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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.

The lawsuit had a chilling effect on the real-estate industry, which has become more reliant on software and data services in recent years.

From The Wall Street Journal

“It could end up with a real chilling effect on important journalism if the city could go out and just seek to claw back records that have already been provided to a journalist.”

From Los Angeles Times

It said such cases were having a chilling effect on young Russian scientists.

From Reuters

“The Lava Is Calm” features chilling piano; “Maybe We Can Stay” spotlights sweeping strings and flutes darting across a bouncy backbeat.

From New York Times

Prosecutor David Josse KC said Nash "calmly and chillingly" admitted the killings and tried to justify it as punishment for his wife's infidelity, and that his daughter was his "property".

From BBC

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.