Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
3,900,018,140 visitors served.
forum Join the Word of the Day Mailing List For webmasters
?
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

in cold blood

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
in cold blood
Fig. without feeling; with cruel intent. (Frequently said of a crime, especially murder.) The killer walked up and shot the woman in cold blood. How insulting! For a person to say something like that in cold blood is just horrible.
See also: blood, cold
in cold blood
if you do something, especially kill someone, in cold blood, you do it in a way which is cruel because you plan it and do it without emotion Four men were charged with the killing, in cold blood, of a French tourist last summer. An unarmed boy was shot in cold blood outside his home yesterday.
See also: blood, cold
in cold blood
intentionally and without emotion The jury must now decide if the two men are guilty of killing their parents in cold blood.
Usage notes: most often used with the verbs kill, murder, and shoot
Etymology: based the figurative meanings of cold ( lacking in feeling) and blood ( emotion)
See also: blood, cold
Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link 		Feedback
References in classic literature?   Idioms browser?   Full browser?
For these reasons, the trade of a soldier is held the most honourable of all others; because a soldier is a YAHOO hired to kill, in cold blood, as many of his own species, who have never offended him, as possibly he can.
Gulliver's Travels by Swift, Jonathan View in context
But the things which one says naturally enough when the emotions provoke them sound crude enough in cold blood and colder daylight.
The Malefactor by Oppenheim, E. Phillips View in context
Granted that my fancy for Hetty was only a cloud of illusions, still I could not, within a few days of her sudden death, go in cold blood to take part in a grotesque and heathenish mummery over her coffin.
An Unsocial Socialist by Shaw, George Bernard View in context
 
 
 
Idioms and phrases
?

Terms of Use | Privacy policy | Feedback | Advertise with Us | Copyright © 2012 Farlex, Inc.
Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.