cold-blooded
Americanadjective
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designating or pertaining to animals, as fishes and reptiles, whose blood temperature ranges from the freezing point upward, in accordance with the temperature of the surrounding medium; poikilothermic.
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without emotion or feeling; dispassionate; cruel.
a cold-blooded murder.
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sensitive to cold.
adjective
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having or showing a lack of feeling or pity
a cold-blooded killing
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informal particularly sensitive to cold
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Technical term: poikilothermic. (of all animals except birds and mammals) having a body temperature that varies with that of the surroundings
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Having a body temperature that changes according to the temperature of the surroundings. Fish, amphibians, and reptiles are cold-blooded.
Other Word Forms
- cold-bloodedly adverb
- cold-bloodedness noun
Etymology
Origin of cold-blooded
First recorded in 1585–95
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Insects are cold-blooded, so they are at the mercy of external temperatures," said Northwestern's Marco Gallio, who led the study.
From Science Daily • Mar. 26, 2026
Put a cold-blooded spin on it and “Sinners” is now the biggest loser in Oscars history, ceding 12 of its 16 record-breaking nominations to other films.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2026
They were cold-blooded, for one thing, and probably resembled lizards.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 10, 2026
While many see Yamagami as a cold-blooded murderer, some sympathise with his troubled upbringing.
From BBC • Jan. 20, 2026
Of course she felt like a cold-blooded vampire.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.