Meaning & use

freezing

adjective·Everyday

Extremely cold, at or near the temperature at which water turns to ice.

See it in a sentence

It was absolutely freezing outside, so we bundled up in three layers.

Her hands were freezing after waiting at the bus stop for twenty minutes.

A note on using this word

Freezing is often used informally as an intensifier for extreme cold, even when the actual temperature is well above the literal freezing point.

Words with a similar meaning

icyfrigidbitter

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

boilingsweltering

Another way to use it

2. verb

The process by which a liquid becomes solid due to a drop in temperature.

Freezing the leftover soup will let us store it for another month.

Make it your own

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