Meaning & use
frozen
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
Turned into ice or covered with ice.
Grammar: No comparative forms: you don't say 'more frozen' in this literal sense, though 'more frozen' can appear informally.
Patterns
- frozen solid
- frozen lake
- frozen ground
The lake was frozen solid, so we went skating.
The car windows were frozen and needed scraping.
adjectivebefore a noun
Preserved by being kept at a very low temperature.
Grammar: Usually comes before the noun: 'frozen peas'.
Patterns
- frozen food
- frozen vegetables
- frozen dinner
I always keep frozen peas in the freezer.
She bought a frozen pizza for a quick dinner.
adjectivenot comparable
Unable to move or act because of fear, shock, or cold.
Grammar: Often used after 'be' or 'stand': 'She stood frozen.'
Patterns
- frozen with fear
- stand frozen
- be frozen in place
He stood frozen with fear when he heard the noise.
She was frozen in place, unable to scream.
adjectivebefore a nounbusinessfinance
Kept at a fixed level and not allowed to change, especially of prices or money.
Grammar: Used before nouns like 'assets', 'prices', 'wages'.
Patterns
- frozen assets
- frozen prices
- frozen wages
The bank's frozen assets could not be accessed.
The company announced frozen wages for the next year.
Common combinations
- frozen food
- The supermarket has a large section for frozen food.
- frozen solid
- The ground was frozen solid after the blizzard.
- frozen with fear
- She was frozen with fear when she saw the shadow.
- frozen assets
- The government seized the company's frozen assets.
Synonyms and how they differ
- icy
- Icy means covered with ice or very cold, but it doesn't suggest something is completely solid like 'frozen' does.
- chilled
- Chilled means made cold but not frozen; frozen is much colder and implies ice.
- immobile
- Immobile means unable to move, often for physical reasons; frozen suggests being unable to move because of fear or cold.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: frozen or freezed?
frozen vs freezed
Freezed is not a real word; the correct past tense is 'froze' and the past participle is 'frozen'.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'frozen' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Frozen' correctly describes the lake being turned to ice. Option 1 is wrong because 'frozen with' takes a noun like 'fear', not an adjective. Option 2 uses 'frozen' as a past tense verb, but the past tense is 'froze'. Option 3 is illogical because the sun is not frozen.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “frozen”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.