Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

chilling

American  
[chil-ing] / ˈtʃɪl ɪŋ /

adjective

  1. causing or likely to cause a chill.

    the chilling effect of the high unemployment rate.

Etymology

Origin of chilling

chill + -ing 2

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.

Gonzalez’s case isn’t over, but it has already sent a chilling message.

From Slate • Apr. 6, 2026

Horror is filled with trend-hopping and mimicry — the genre itself holds a mirror to our cultural anxieties, replicating them with chilling, hyperbolic intensity.

From Salon • Mar. 29, 2026

Those chilling hours proved their worth this month, when high temperatures arrived far earlier than usual.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026

"What chilling effect does that have on the world we live in? You don't like what a public official does and you make a joke, and you're dragged into court?"

From BBC • Mar. 19, 2026

Only a few weeks into his new assignment, a chilling reminder of the risks of Blake's double life landed on his desk.

From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau

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.