cold turkey
abrupt and complete withdrawal from the use of an addictive substance, as a narcotic drug, alcohol, or tobacco.
Idioms about cold turkey
go cold turkey, Informal.
to stop using an addictive substance abruptly and completely.
to undergo sudden and complete withdrawal from a habitual activity or behavior pattern.
to begin or do something without planning, preparation, or practice.
Origin of cold turkey
1Words Nearby cold turkey
Other definitions for cold-turkey (2 of 2)
to withdraw from (an addictive substance or a habit) abruptly and completely.
to withdraw from an addictive substance or a habit abruptly and completely.
abrupt and complete: cold-turkey withdrawal from drugs.
Origin of cold-turkey
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use cold turkey in a sentence
She quit the protests cold turkey in October, found a spiritual adviser, started to channel her desire to burn the system down into building up her community.
One year after George Floyd’s death sparked a movement, many protesters’ lives are forever changed | Marissa Lang | May 28, 2021 | Washington PostWhile most moderate drinkers can handle withdrawal symptoms on their own, if you are truly alcohol-dependent, quitting cold turkey may not actually be safe.
Going "cold turkey" off of heroin, while difficult, is not impossible—and very rarely fatal.
When pushed, users and addicts (including myself), have proven willing to drop the BlackBerry cold turkey.
His jumpiness, he said, was caused by quitting smoking cold turkey.
Quitting cold turkey "had serious physical and psychological effects" that were "extremely negative and lasted a long time."
After two weeks of cold turkey, I sensed he was faltering and bought him some Nicotine gum.
How My Little Slice of Heaven Became My Toddler's Hell | Laura Bennett | October 21, 2008 | THE DAILY BEASTTootles, said Flick severely, put the cold soup, the cold turkey and the cold pig upon the table.
The Woman Gives | Owen JohnsonThe alehouse was kept by that cousin of Felix's who was so fond of 'delicate cold turkey,' and who had such choice cherry-brandy.
The Parent's Assistant | Maria EdgeworthIn a few minutes, a small table, furnished with a cold turkey and a decanter of wine, was laid for her in the bower.
The Heroine | Eaton Stannard BarrettCut the cold turkey meat into dice and mix it with twice the quantity of diced celery and one cupful of broken walnut meats.
Breakfasts and Teas | Paul PierceTake a cold roast-beef bone, pieces of beefsteak, the rack of a cold turkey or chicken.
The Whitehouse Cookbook (1887) | Mrs. F.L. Gillette
British Dictionary definitions for cold turkey
slang a method of curing drug addiction by abrupt withdrawal of all doses
the withdrawal symptoms, esp nausea and shivering, brought on by this method
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for cold turkey
To “go cold turkey” is to withdraw suddenly and completely from an addictive substance or some other form of dependency: “Many people who attempt to quit smoking do so by going cold turkey rather than by gradually cutting down.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with cold turkey
Immediate, complete withdrawal from something, especially an addictive substance; also, without planning or preparation. For example, My bad shoulder forced me to quit playing tennis cold turkey, or I'd never done any rock climbing, but decided to try it cold turkey. This term may have come from the earlier expression talk turkey (for blunt speaking). At first used strictly for abrupt withdrawal from drugs or alcohol, it soon was transferred to quitting any habit or activity. [Early 1900s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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