frozen

[froh-zuhn]

verb

1. past participle of freeze.

adjective

1. congealed by cold; turned into ice.

2. covered with ice, as a stream.

3. frigid; very cold.

4. injured or killed by frost or cold.

5. obstructed by ice, as pipes.

6. chilly or cold in manner; unfeeling.

   a frozen stare.

7. rigid; immobilized.

   The child was frozen with fear.

8. quick-frozen.

   frozen foods.

9. (of food) chilled or refrigerated.

10. (especially of a drink) mixed with ice and frappéed in an electric blender.

11. in a form that is not readily convertible into cash; not liquid.

    frozen assets.

12. not permitted to be changed or incapable of being altered; fixed.

    frozen rents; frozen salaries.

13. Canasta.,  (of the discard pile) unable to be picked up by a player unless the player's hand contains a natural pair to match the top card of the pile.

frozen

/ ˈfrəʊzən /

verb

1. the past participle of freeze

adjective

1. turned into or covered with ice

2. obstructed or blocked by ice

3. killed, injured, or stiffened by extreme cold

4. (of a region or climate) icy or snowy

5. (of food) preserved by a freezing process

6. 1. (of prices, wages, etc) arbitrarily pegged at a certain level

   2. (of business assets) not convertible into cash, as by government direction or business conditions

7. frigid, unfeeling, or disdainful in manner

8. motionless or unyielding

   he was frozen with horror

Other Word Forms

• frozenness noun
• frozenly adverb
• prefrozen adjective
• unfrozen adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of frozen¹

First recorded in 1300–50, for the adjective

Example Sentences

The secretly shared videotape was so satisfying that people literally died watching it, so frozen in their bliss that they forgot about their own human needs.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

That task force was abruptly disbanded recently, and the system tracking progress of funding requests was frozen, making the process even more opaque.

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“I felt incomplete, sad, frozen in time maybe.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The administration has frozen about $2.2 billion in federal research grants, which a judge ruled earlier this month should be returned to Harvard.

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The same story is playing out across chips, frozen foods, chocolate and yogurt.

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Related Words

• chilled 
• frigid 
• ice-cold 
• iced 
• icy