frigid

adjective

frig·​id ˈfri-jəd How to pronounce frigid (audio)
1
a
: intensely cold
frigid water
b
: lacking warmth or ardor : indifferent
had an emotionally frigid father
2
: lacking imaginative qualities : insipid
writing precise and frigid poetry
3
a
: abnormally averse to sexual intercourse
used especially of women
b
of a female : unable to achieve orgasm during sexual intercourse
frigidly adverb
frigidness noun

Examples of frigid in a Sentence

The frigid gusts of wind stung their faces. She was born into an emotionally frigid family.
Recent Examples on the Web The men in pink were routed 4-0 on a frigid, rainy afternoon. Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 23 Mar. 2024 Sherry Evans, 33, had brought her 3-year-old daughter, Ivory, in a pink puffer coat to the Capuchin Soup Kitchen on a recent frigid Wednesday. Jeff Stein, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2024 The two regions are similar on the surface—extreme ends of the earth, frigid polar climates. Elizabeth Buchanan, Foreign Affairs, 18 Mar. 2024 For months, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration had delayed enforcing a 60-day limit on shelter stays amid frigid temperatures and concerns over the repercussions of evicting people who might have nowhere to go. Miriam Jordan, New York Times, 17 Mar. 2024 Just last month, Putin’s foremost civilian rival, Alexei Navalny, turned up dead in the frigid Siberian prison camp to which he’d been consigned after surviving the Kremlin’s attempt to poison him. Anna Nemtsova, The Atlantic, 16 Mar. 2024 That means the cold air trapped at the top of the planet, called the polar vortex, escapes its normal confines and drifts elsewhere, bringing short plunges of frigid air that temporarily counteracts the overall warming trend in places, Dr. Cohen said. Seth Borenstein, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 Mar. 2024 From plasma-spewing hellscapes to a frigid land with air so thick a human could don a winged suit and take flight, these extraterrestrial moons are fascinating worlds in their own right, and may even be unexpected candidates for harboring life. Max Bennett, Discover Magazine, 7 Mar. 2024 The decrease, which contributed to the boost in the average hourly earnings data point, was likely due to the frigid temperatures and snow in January that affected work in weather-sensitive industries, Faucher said. Alicia Wallace, CNN, 7 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'frigid.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin frigidus, from frigēre to be cold; akin to Latin frigus frost, cold, Greek rhigos

First Known Use

1619, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of frigid was in 1619

Dictionary Entries Near frigid

Cite this Entry

“Frigid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/frigid. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

frigid

adjective
frig·​id ˈfrij-əd How to pronounce frigid (audio)
1
: freezing cold
2
: not friendly
a frigid stare
frigidity
frij-ˈid-ət-ē
noun
frigidly
ˈfrij-əd-lē
adverb
frigidness noun

Medical Definition

frigid

adjective
frig·​id ˈfrij-əd How to pronounce frigid (audio)
1
: lacking sexual desire : abnormally averse to sexual intercourse
used especially of women
2
of a female : unable to achieve orgasm during sexual intercourse

More from Merriam-Webster on frigid

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