gelid
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- gelidity noun
- gelidly adverb
- gelidness noun
Etymology
Origin of gelid
1600–10; < Latin gelidus icy cold, equivalent to gel ( um ) frost, cold + -idus -id 4
Explanation
Gelid things are bitterly cold. When you wake up shivering on a winter morning, you may want to announce that you're not getting out of bed on such a gelid day. Use this adjective to describe frozen things — like a gelid skating pond, your gelid fingers when you forget to wear your gloves, or the gelid breeze coming in through the gap under your front door. Gelid is also useful for figuratively icy things, like your teacher's gelid smile when you ask him if the class can take the day off. Gelid comes from the Latin gelidus, "icy, cold, or frosty," from gelum, "frost or intense cold."
Vocabulary lists containing gelid
Wintry Words
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Chill Out! Synonyms for "Cold"
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30 GRE Words Beginning with "G" and "H"
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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.
But the Kuiper Belt, a torus-shaped ring of gelid objects, including the dwarf planet Pluto, will have its portrait taken by VRO in considerable detail.
From National Geographic • Jan. 9, 2024
Other offerings there sound like a warm hug in gelid form: Jasmine Milk Tea laced with chocolate-coated almond slivers, or Rhubarb Crumble with Toasted Anise.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 13, 2023
Irresistibly compelled, you book a holiday to the gelid, hostile regions whence the creature came.
From New York Times • Mar. 12, 2022
This gelid past appealed to Brandon, who loves old things.
From Washington Post • May 10, 2021
The water is gelid, murky; down there, past where the sand drops away and it’s deep, there are old rocks covered with slime, sunken logs, crayfish, leeches, huge pike with undershot jaws.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
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.
