frigid
[frij-id]
- very cold in temperature: a frigid climate.
- without warmth of feeling; without ardor or enthusiasm: a frigid reaction to the suggested law.
- stiff or formal: a welcome that was polite but frigid.
- (of a woman)
- inhibited in the ability to experience sexual excitement during sexual activity.
- unresponsive to sexual advances or stimuli.
- unemotional or unimaginative; lacking passion, sympathy, or sensitivity: a correct, but frigid presentation.
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Origin of frigid
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
ice-coldfrozenfreezingchillyicyfrostyglacialwintryforbiddingcoldarcticchillcoolgelidsnappySiberianantarcticiceboxaloofaustereExamples from the Web for frigid
Contemporary Examples
After a half-century of frigid relations, the U.S. and Cuba have agreed to a thaw as the result of 18 months of secret talks.
Russia is rapidly building up its military forces in the Arctic in an effort to secure its claims in the frigid region.
Famine and frigid temperatures ensued, and roughly 10 percent of the population died.
She never liked her mother—a frigid and inattentive woman—but adored her father.
In the frigid temperatures, demonstrators constructed barricades, built a massive tent city and occupied government buildings.
Historical Examples
No sign of recognition; rather a cold, frigid stare, I thought.
The UnderdogF. Hopkinson Smith
The General, with a frigid nod, moved on a few paces and left them together.
Southern Lights and ShadowsVarious
The house was in darkness, and the moon brought it out in silvery, frigid relief.
The Law-BreakersRidgwell Cullum
Down there at Vernon, in my frigid room, I bit my pillow to stifle my cries.
Therese RaquinEmile Zola
He was frigid, through no fault of his own, and without cruelty.
Howards EndE. M. Forster
frigid
- formal or stiff in behaviour or temperament; lacking in affection or warmth
- (esp of a woman)
- lacking sexual responsiveness
- averse to sexual intercourse or unable to achieve orgasm during intercourse
- characterized by physical coldnessa frigid zone
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Word Origin
C15: from Latin frigidus cold, from frīgēre to be cold, freeze; related to Latin frīgus frost
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
Word Origin and History for frigid
adj.
1620s, from Latin frigidus "cold, chill, cool," figuratively "indifferent," from stem of frigere "be cold;" related to frigus "cold, coldness, frost," from PIE root *srig- "cold."
The meaning "wanting in sexual heat" is attested from 1650s. Frigidaire as the proprietary name of a brand of self-contained automatically operated iceless refrigerator dates from 1919 (Frigidaire Corporation, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
frigid
(frĭj′ĭd)- Extremely cold.
- Persistently averse to sexual intercourse.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.