cool

[ kool ]

/ kul /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: cool / cooler / coolest / cooling on Thesaurus.com

adjective, cool·er, cool·est.

moderately cold; neither warm nor cold: a rather cool evening.

feeling comfortably or moderately cold: I'm perfectly cool, but open the window if you feel hot.

imparting a sensation of moderate coldness or comfortable freedom from heat: a cool breeze.

permitting such a sensation: a cool dress.

not excited; calm; composed; under control: to remain cool in the face of disaster.

not hasty; deliberate: a cool and calculated action.

lacking in interest or enthusiasm: a cool reply to an invitation.

lacking in warmth or cordiality: a cool reception.

calmly audacious or impudent: a cool lie.

aloof or unresponsive; indifferent: He was cool to her passionate advances.

unaffected by emotions; disinterested; dispassionate: She made a cool appraisal of all the issues in the dispute.

Informal. (of a number or sum) without exaggeration or qualification: a cool million dollars.

(of colors) with green, blue, or violet predominating.

Slang.

great; fine; excellent: a real cool comic.
characterized by great facility; highly skilled or clever: cool maneuvers on the parallel bars.
socially adept: It's not cool to arrive at a party too early.
acceptable; satisfactory; okay: If you want to stay late, that's cool.

adverb

Informal. coolly.

interjection

Slang.

(used to express acceptance): Okay, cool! I'll be there at 10:00.
(used to express approval, admiration, etc.): He got the job? Cool!

noun

something that is cool; a cool part, place, time, etc.: in the cool of the evening.

coolness.

calmness; composure; poise: an executive noted for maintaining her cool under pressure.

verb (used without object)

to become cool (sometimes followed by down or off): The soup cooled in five minutes. We cooled off in the mountain stream.

to become less ardent, cordial, etc.; become moderate.

verb (used with object)

to make cool; impart a sensation of coolness to.

to lessen the ardor or intensity of; allay; calm; moderate: Disappointment cooled his early zealousness.

Verb Phrases

cool down. See entry at cooldown.

cool off, Informal. to become calmer or more reasonable: Wait until he cools off before you talk to him again.

cool out, Slang. to calm or settle down; relax: cooling out at the beach.

OTHER WORDS FOR cool

5 collected, self-possessed, unruffled, placid, quiet.

7, 8 distant, apathetic, reserved, remote, lukewarm.

23 temper, abate.

See synonyms for cool on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR cool

1, 3, 4, 7, 8 warm.

See antonyms for cool on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

CUDDLE UP! A COZY QUIZ ON FALL WORDS HAS ARRIVED

If autumn is your ideal season, spice up your repertoire of "fall" vocabulary with this quiz on some warm and vivid descriptive words for the season.

Question 1 of 10

Which of the following words means “to make a crackling sound; crackle”?

crisp

crepitate

fuscous

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Idioms about cool

blow one's cool. blow² (def. 48).

cool it, Slang. calm down; take it easy.

cool one's heels. heel¹ (def. 26).

Origin of cool

First recorded before 1000; Middle English col, coul, Old English cōl; cognate with Middle Low German kōl, Old High German kuoli, German kühl; see cold, chill

synonym study for cool

1. See cold. 5. See calm.

OTHER WORDS FROM cool

cool·ing·ly, adverbcool·ish, adjectivecool·ly, adverbcool·ness, noun

o·ver·cool, adjectiveo·ver·cool·ly, adverbo·ver·cool·ness, nounre·cool, verbsub·cool, verb (used with object)ul·tra·cool, adjectiveun·cooled, adjectivewell-cooled, adjective

Words nearby cool

cooktop, Cooktown orchid, cook up, cookware, cook with gas, cool, coolabah, coolamon, coolant, cool as a cucumber, cool bag

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use cool in a sentence

So, the water cooled in the salt slush was definitely colder than the water cooled in simple ice.
Build ice towers with bottled water and ice|Bethany Brookshire|September 16, 2020|Science News For Students
According to a Monday blog post from Microsoft, the consistently cool underwater temperatures made it possible to use similar heat-exchange plumbing to the kind found on submarines.
Microsoft hails success of its undersea data center experiment—and says it could have implications on dry land, too|David Meyer|September 15, 2020|Fortune
We handled some of the work, so you can get your cool java sooner.
Great coffee beans for cold brew|PopSci Commerce Team|September 15, 2020|Popular-Science
While it seems everyone wants to keep pace with the cool kids, everyone can’t keep pace with the cool kids.
Making Poly Less of a Pain in the Ass|Eugene Robinson|September 14, 2020|Ozy

We look at the trends, and it’s a reason we started a delivery service before it was cool.
Momofuku’s David Chang on the big changes the restaurant industry needs to make to survive|Beth Kowitt|September 14, 2020|Fortune
It’s cool because Trenchmouth opened for Green Day in the early ‘90s in Wisconsin.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
She came to sound check, that was the first time we ever performed it, and it was really cool.
Deer Tick's John McCauley on Ten Years in Rock and Roll|James Joiner|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Triton prices the 1000/3 LP at a cool $3.15 million—inclusive of pilot training.
The Most Exciting New Hotels, Restaurants, and Submarines of 2014|Charlie Gilbert|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Allow beans to cool completely then remove to a paper towel-lined plate to dry.
Make Carla Hall’s Crispy Shallot Green Bean Casserole|Carla Hall|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Ismael brothers even make an effort to look cool, if not fashionable, by local standards.
The Brothers Who Ambushed ISIS|Mohammed A. Salih|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Things looked anxious for a bit, but by this morning's dawn all are dug in, cool, confident.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
It mounted straight as a plume for a little way, until it met the cool air of evening which was beginning to fall.
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden
He has told me that their society produced on him the effect of the cool hands of saints against his cheek.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
I laved his pain-twisted face with the cool water and let a few drops trickle into his open mouth.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
As for him, he much preferred the darkness of his cool, damp galleries under the ground.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole|Arthur Scott Bailey

British Dictionary definitions for cool

cool

/ (kuːl) /

adjective

moderately colda cool day

comfortably free of heata cool room

producing a pleasant feeling of coldnessa cool shirt

able to conceal emotion; calma cool head

lacking in enthusiasm, affection, cordiality, etca cool welcome

calmly audacious or impudent

informal (esp of numbers, sums of money, etc) without exaggeration; actuala cool ten thousand

(of a colour) having violet, blue, or green predominating; cold

(of jazz) characteristic of the late 1940s and early 1950s, economical and rhythmically relaxed

informal sophisticated or elegant, esp in an unruffled way

informal excellent; marvellous

adverb

not standard in a cool manner; coolly

noun

coolnessthe cool of the evening

slang calmness; composure (esp in the phrases keep or lose one's cool)

slang unruffled elegance or sophistication

verb

(usually foll by down or off) to make or become cooler

(usually foll by down or off) to lessen the intensity of (anger or excitement) or (of anger or excitement) to become less intense; calm down

cool it (usually imperative) slang to calm down; take it easy

cool one's heels to wait or be kept waiting

Derived forms of cool

coolingly, adverbcoolingness, nouncoolish, adjectivecoolly, adverb

coolness, noun

Word Origin for cool

Old English cōl; related to Old Norse kōlna, Old High German kuoli; see cold, chill

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with cool

cool

In addition to the idioms beginning with cool

cool as a cucumber
cool down
cool it
cool off
cool one's heels
cool out

also see:

keep cool
keep one's cool
play it cool

cool

OTHER WORDS FOR cool

OPPOSITES FOR cool

Idioms about cool

Origin of cool

synonym study for cool

OTHER WORDS FROM cool

Words nearby cool

learn more about cool

Words related to cool

How to use cool in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cool

Derived forms of cool

Word Origin for cool

Other Idioms and Phrases with cool