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Synonyms

chilling

American  
[chil-ing] / ˈtʃɪl ɪŋ /

adjective

  1. causing or likely to cause a chill.

    the chilling effect of the high unemployment rate.

Etymology

Origin of chilling

chill + -ing 2

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.

“The fears that ICE would raid shows didn’t really materialize, but there is a chilling effect,” said Andy Gensler, editor of the touring-biz trade bible Pollstar.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 19, 2026

Fifa offical Heimo Schirgi said: "The NJ Transit current pricing model will have a chilling effect."

From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026

He said those chilling words shouldn’t be taken literally, according to a recording shared with the Journal.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

Gonzalez’s case isn’t over, but it has already sent a chilling message.

From Slate • Apr. 6, 2026

Could I but have stiffened to the still frost—the friendly numbness of death—it might have pelted on; I should not have felt it; but my yet living flesh shuddered at its chilling influence.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

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.