Make Your Point > Archived Issues > FROIDEUR
Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.
pronounce
FROIDEUR:
Say it "FRAW dur."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
From Scrubs:
J.D.: "I know you don't really like me, but--"
Jordan: "I don't dislike you. I nothing you."
That's pretty cold! That's froideur.
Or, it's s___-froid. Can you recall that synonym? It's also from French, and it also means "a cold, detached, indifferent attitude." But unlike our word froideur, this one literally means "cold blood."
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
We took our word "froideur" straight from French, around the year 1645. It literally means "coldness."
Froideur is coolness or coldness in someone's feelings or behavior toward some specific person.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Noun, the uncountable kind: "Jordan treats J. D. with froideur."
Other forms:
None.
how to use it:
When you need a rare, emphatic, very sophisticated word, pick "froideur" instead of common synonyms like "coldness," "coolness," "indifference," "disdain," and "nonchalance."
Talk about someone's froideur toward someone else, or about the froideur between two people or groups.
Because "froideur" literally means "coldness," you can also talk about someone's froideur thawing, softening, melting, etc.
examples:
"In each picture, Beyoncé has a similar expression: distant, stoic... a hint of froideur."
— Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 6 August 2018
"Anglo-French relations plunge further into froideur... Britain was widely seen in France as not just leaving the EU, but turning its back on its European neighbours."
— Madeleine Bruder, World News Era, 25 January 2022
has this page helped you understand "froideur"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "froideur" without saying "coldness of manner" or "frosty attitude."
try it out:
Talk about a movie villain who best embodies froideur. What does this character do or say--or not do or say--that displays an icy disdain or disregard toward the other characters?
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
Our game for this month is "Provocative Verbs."
Check out the headline below. Originally, it included some highly emotional verb, like "bushwhack," "agonize," or "soar." But I've swapped it out for an emotionless one.
Try to restore the strong feelings that the headline originally evoked by choosing your own highly emotional verb to swap back in. For example, instead of "St. Jude Keeps Billions While Many of Its Families Use Their Savings," you might come up with "St. Jude Hoards Billions While Many of Its Families Drain Their Savings," the original provocative headline from ProPublica.
Scroll all the way down to see the original headline. You might think of the same verbs as the original writers did, or yours might be even spicier.
Try this one today:
From ProPublica: "Storm Drains Keep Killing People During Floods"
review this word:
A. WARMTH.
B. NOVELTY.
C. EXCITEMENT.
2.
In the New York Times, Dwight Garner describes a singer as "possessed of a _____ froideur," adding, "_____."
A. shivery .. Her sunny side, if it exists, is rarely up
B. wide-eyed .. Her inner child is always out to play
C. singular .. Her mean streak, though concealed, is a mile wide
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
On vocabulary...
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.
From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
From Scrubs:
We took our word "froideur" straight from French, around the year 1645. It literally means "coldness."
Part of speech:
When you need a rare, emphatic, very sophisticated word, pick "froideur" instead of common synonyms like "coldness," "coolness," "indifference," "disdain," and "nonchalance."
"In each picture, Beyoncé has a similar expression: distant, stoic... a hint of froideur."
Explain the meaning of "froideur" without saying "coldness of manner" or "frosty attitude."
Talk about a movie villain who best embodies froideur. What does this character do or say--or not do or say--that displays an icy disdain or disregard toward the other characters?
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. |