cold turkey

noun

Definition of cold turkeynext
as in clam
a cold aloof person my new boss is a cold turkey and definitely not one for chitchat

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cold turkey Even if head coach Mike Elko and his staff stopped recruiting cold turkey today and didn't pick up their phones until after signing day, this class would already be in some rarefied air. — Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 2 June 2026 The step-by-step approach matters because going cold turkey rarely sticks. — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 May 2026 The food menu has salads and breakfast sandwiches, paninis and burritos ($11-$15), as well as a lone cold turkey club. — John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 13 May 2026 For advertisers, going cold turkey on clicks means shifting strategy from traffic quantity to conversion quality. — Ivan Doruda, Forbes.com, 20 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for cold turkey
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cold turkey
  1. clam
  2. cold fish
  3. stick
  4. iceberg
Noun
  • Unlike the traditional baked dish of littlenecks stuffed with bacon and breadcrumbs, Jimmy’s version comes as a bowl of thumbnail-sized Manila clams tossed with guanciale, compound butter and breadcrumbs.
    — Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Forgo the salad and lean into Baja influences with clam and bottarga linguine or seafood puttanesca, and save room for an affogato.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of clam
Noun
  • That impulse extends to dealing with occasional rude customers at her day gig, where the coworkers are nice but the boss, family-business heir Maxwell Sterling (Peter Serafinowicz), is one nasty cold fish.
    — Dennis Harvey, Variety, 27 Nov. 2025
  • Lancelot, still the Round Table’s greatest hero, is a bit of a cold fish with an unexpected role to play as the saga winds to its close.
    — Elizabeth Hand, Washington Post, 16 July 2024
Definition of cold fish
Noun
  • The robot is about the size of a stick of chewing gum, with muscle cells attached to a flexible gel.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Inspectors also observed a dying adult cockroach on the floor nearby, two live adult cockroaches on a glue stick in a storage room, and a dead adult cockroach near the employee restroom entrance.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of stick
Noun
  • Like an iceberg, most of its mass lay hidden beneath the surface.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The species Cichorium intybus (the botanical name for chicory) includes the green stalky Catalogna; the pan di zucchero, which is the Italian equivalent of iceberg; and the gorgeous radicchio.
    — Tamar Adler, Vogue, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of iceberg

Browse Nearby Words

cold sweat
cold turkey
cold war
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cold turkey.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cold%20turkey. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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