cold-blooded

UK: /ˌkəʊldˈblʌdɪd/ US: (kōld′blud′id)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

ˈcold-ˈblood•ed or ˈcoldˈblood•ed, adj. 

1. Zoology of or referring to animals, as fishes and reptiles, whose blood temperature changes with the temperature of the air or water surrounding them:
   cold-blooded crocodiles.
2. done or acting without emotion:
   a cold-blooded killer.
3. sensitive to cold:
   I'm cold-blooded and need very warm clothes in winter.

cold--blood•ed•ly, adv.: 

He was cold-bloodedly left behind to die.

cold--blood•ed•ness, n. [uncountable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

cold-blood•ed  (kōld′blud′id), adj. 

1. Zoology designating or pertaining to animals, as fishes and reptiles, whose blood temperature ranges from the freezing point upward, in accordance with the temperature of the surrounding medium;
   poikilothermal.
2. without emotion or feeling;
   dispassionate;
   cruel:
   a cold-blooded murder.
3. sensitive to cold.

• 1585–95

cold′-blood′ed•ly, adv. 
cold′-blood′ed•ness, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

cold-blooded adjective

1. having or showing a lack of feeling or pity
2. particularly sensitive to cold
3. (of all animals except birds and mammals) having a body temperature that varies with that of the surroundings
   Technical term: poikilothermic

ˌcold-ˈbloodedly adverb

ˌcold-ˈbloodedness noun