Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Lacking feeling or emotion.
  • adjective Executed without feeling or emotion.
  • adjective Ectothermic.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Having cold blood; hematocryal.
  • See Hœmatocrya.
  • Not thoroughbred; of common or mongrel stock: applied to horses that are not full-blooded.
  • Sensitive to cold: said of persons who feel the cold more than is usual: as, a cold-blooded man is obliged to dress warmly in winter.
  • Figuratively, without sensibility or feeling; unsympathetic; without the usual feelings of humanity; characterized by such lack of sensibility: as, a cold-blooded villain; cold-blooded advice; a cold-blooded murder.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Having cold blood; -- said of fish or animals whose blood is but little warmer than the water or air about them.
  • adjective Deficient in sensibility or feeling; hard-hearted.
  • adjective Not thoroughbred; -- said of animals, as horses, which are derived from the common stock of a country.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Having an unregulated body temperature; ectothermic.
  • adjective Lacking emotion or compunction.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective having cold blood (in animals whose body temperature is not internally regulated)
  • adjective without compunction or human feeling

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word cold-blooded.

Examples

  • The scientists were keen to clarify the term "cold-blooded", which - although a familiar description used for many reptiles, amphibians and fish - can be misleading.

    BBC News - Home 2011

  • “You know, what you refer to as cold-blooded murder, others term justifiable homicide.”

    Earl of Durkness Alix Rickloff 2011

  • “You know, what you refer to as cold-blooded murder, others term justifiable homicide.”

    Earl of Durkness Alix Rickloff 2011

  • “You know, what you refer to as cold-blooded murder, others term justifiable homicide.”

    Earl of Durkness Alix Rickloff 2011

  • A jury in Canada has found three members of an Afghan family guilty of drowning three teenage sisters and another woman in what the judge described as "cold-blooded, shameful murders" resulting from a "twisted concept of honour".

    'Honour killings': Canadian jury finds Afghan family guilty 2012

  • Afghan family guilty in honour killing A CANADIAN jury has found an Afghan father, his wife and their son guilty of killing three teenage sisters and another wife in what the judge described as "cold-blooded, shameful murders" resulting from a "twisted concept of honour".

    NEWS.com.au | Top Stories 2012

  • KINGSTON, Ontario AP - A jury on Sunday found an Afghan father, his wife and their son guilty of killing three teenage sisters and a co-wife in what the judge described as "cold-blooded, shameful murders" resulting from a "twisted concept of honor."

    USATODAY.com News 2012

  • A jury on Sunday found an Afghan father, his wife and their son guilty of killing three teenage sisters and a co-wife in what the judge described as "cold-blooded, shameful murders" resulting from a "twisted concept of honor."

    SFGate: Don Asmussen: Bad Reporter 2012

  • Sahirn P’Thall stared back at Cogley with a withering glare that the defense attorney would have called cold-blooded, if Kradians had circulatory systems.

    The Case of the Colonist’s Corpse Bob Ingersoll 2004

  • Sahirn P’Thall stared back at Cogley with a withering glare that the defense attorney would have called cold-blooded, if Kradians had circulatory systems.

    The Case of the Colonist’s Corpse Bob Ingersoll 2004

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.