chilling
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of chilling
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.
Shepard said the potential new law could be applied unevenly, and the language could have a chilling effect on investigative journalism.
From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2026
In an essay last Thursday in Stars and Stripes, Smith described being fired in terms that were impersonal, precise and chilling.
From Salon • May 3, 2026
The fine was issued by the Office for Students, the regulator of England's universities, over the university's trans and non-binary inclusion policy which it said had a "chilling" effect on free speech.
From BBC • Apr. 29, 2026
“The fears that ICE would raid shows didn’t really materialize, but there is a chilling effect,” said Andy Gensler, editor of the touring-biz trade bible Pollstar.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 19, 2026
A chilling example is what happened to Anna Popova, who was born in 1923 and was in high school during the Great Terror.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
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.
