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• cold turkey
  cold turkey

  noun

  abrupt and complete withdrawal from the use of an addictive substance, as a narcotic drug, alcohol, or tobacco.
• cold-turkey
  cold-turkey

  verb (used with object)

  to withdraw from (an addictive substance or a habit) abruptly and completely.

cold turkey

¹ American  

[kohld tur-kee] / ˈkoʊld ˈtɜr ki /

noun

Informal.

1. abrupt and complete withdrawal from the use of an addictive substance, as a narcotic drug, alcohol, or tobacco.

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idioms

1. go cold turkey,

   1. to stop using an addictive substance abruptly and completely.

   2. to undergo sudden and complete withdrawal from a habitual activity or behavior pattern.

   3. to begin or do something without planning, preparation, or practice.

cold-turkey ² American  

[kohld-tur-kee] / ˈkoʊldˈtɜr ki /

verb (used with object)

1. to withdraw from (an addictive substance or a habit) abruptly and completely.

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verb (used without object)

1. to withdraw from an addictive substance or a habit abruptly and completely.

adjective

1. abrupt and complete.

   cold-turkey withdrawal from drugs.

cold turkey British  

noun

1. slang a method of curing drug addiction by abrupt withdrawal of all doses

2. the withdrawal symptoms, esp nausea and shivering, brought on by this method

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cold turkey More Idioms  

1. 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]

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Etymology

Origin of cold turkey¹

An Americanism dating back to 1915–20; probably from the phrase to talk cold turkey “to speak bluntly about something unpleasant,” variant of to talk turkey; see turkey

Origin of cold-turkey²

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cold turkey cold-turkey

“It was terrifying. You can’t just go cold turkey on these things,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025

While it won’t kill you like some other vices, trying to quit this spiritually corrosive habit cold turkey is inadvisable.

From Salon ● Dec. 3, 2025

But if you're planning on going in cold turkey because family tradition demands it, Sooz has some tips.

From BBC ● Dec. 24, 2023

The best thing to do about racism, he posits, is to just give it up, cold turkey, by announcing that we’re all good now.

From Slate ● Jun. 29, 2023

The truth was, I could no sooner quit cello cold turkey than I could stop breathing.

From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman

Some have been forced to go "cold-turkey" off of their medication and are suffering withdrawals, said Dr. Ryan Marino, an emergency medicine physician at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2023

She follows individuals doing yeoman’s work but also watches reluctant government officials and conservative communities fight change — particularly on anything that deviates from a cold-turkey approach ill-suited to severe opioid addiction.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2022

“The cold-turkey example was pretty bad,” Stroup said, “like it was 20 to 30% of people would be let go in the month.”

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 15, 2021

You can do a radical, cold-turkey approach: You are going to be on a different floor, and he just has to deal with it.

From Slate ● Apr. 26, 2021

As we struggle through this period of cold-turkey deprivation of many kinds, our appreciation deepens for the kinds of beauty that seem frustratingly out of our reach.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 27, 2020