cold-shoulder

/'kould'ʃouldə/

Thân thiện

She gave her ex-fiancé the cold-shoulder at the party.

Definition

1. Verb:
   • To deliberately ignore someone; to treat someone with intentional indifference or disrespect by refusing to acknowledge them or give them attention.

Usage

• This verb describes a social action where one person snubs or disregards another, often as a form of punishment, rejection, or to show disapproval. It implies a conscious choice to be unfriendly and aloof.
• It is typically used with a direct object (the person being ignored).
• The action is often passive-aggressive, involving a refusal to engage in normal social interaction like speaking or making eye contact.

Examples

• Verb:
  • After their argument, she cold-shouldered him for a week.
  • He felt hurt when his colleagues cold-shouldered him at the company party.
  • The manager was accused of cold-shouldering employees who raised concerns.

Advanced Usage

• "to give someone the cold shoulder": This is the more common idiomatic phrase from which the verb is derived. The verb "to cold-shoulder" is a direct conversion of this idiom.
  • Instead of arguing, she just gave him the cold shoulder. (Idiomatic noun phrase)
  • Compare: She cold-shouldered him. (Verb form)

Variants and Related Words

• Cold shoulder (n): The act or instance of ignoring someone. Often used in the phrase "to give someone the cold shoulder."
  • His cold shoulder was more painful than angry words.
• Snub (v/n): A close synonym meaning to rebuff, ignore, or spurn disdainfully.
• Ignore (v): A more general term for refusing to take notice of or acknowledge.
• Shun (v): To persistently avoid, ignore, or reject.

Synonyms

• Snub
• Ignore
• Slight
• Disregard
• Shun
• Ostracize (implies exclusion by a group)

Related Idioms

• Give someone the cold shoulder: To intentionally ignore someone or treat them in an unfriendly way.
  • Ever since the disagreement, the team has been giving her the cold shoulder.
• Turn a cold shoulder to someone/something: A less common variant with the same meaning.
  • The government was accused of turning a cold shoulder to the protesters' demands.

Học thuật

Verb

1. pay no attention to, disrespect
   • She cold-shouldered her ex-fiance

Từ đồng nghĩa

• slight