frigidity
Americannoun
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the state or condition of being frigid.
-
(in women) inhibition, not caused by a physical disorder or medication, of sexual excitement during sexual activity.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of frigidity
1400–50; late Middle English frigidite coldness (< Middle French fregidité ) < Late Latin frīgiditās; see frigid, -ity
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.
A lighthearted experience this is not; Ms. Schilinski recreates the harsh frigidity of exacting European filmmakers such as Michael Haneke and Ingmar Bergman without evincing the slightest interest in redemption or silver linings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026
In front of these drawings at the Met, I fell in love with David again: with his intensity and his frigidity; with how, in his shadow, today’s “political” art looks as benign as patty-cake.
From New York Times ● Dec. 7, 2022
The same phenomenon may be causing abnormal spells of extreme heat and blasts of polar frigidity, because the jet stream winds that normally break up weather patterns and drive storm systems are weaker.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 29, 2022
His depiction of Ian's cruel frigidity is a match by Foy's sharpness, as she trades the distant stateliness she brought to "The Crown" for fumes of aristocratic entitlement.
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2022
A pair of Dutch tourists stopped for me, complaining about the frigidity of American beer, and sometimes I got rides from couples who were fighting and tired of each other.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
