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cool

n.
A1 Beginner Oxford US //ˈkuɫ// UK //kˈuːl// cool Archaic General-service Informal Slang

n. slightly cold in a way that feels good. It is also a very common way to say that something is fashionable, impressive, or good.

n. moderately cold; lacking in warmth. In informal registers, it describes something that is aesthetically pleasing, socially impressive, or fashionable.


SIMPLE

The weather is nice and cool today.

CONTEXTUAL

Everyone at the party thought his new leather jacket looked really cool.

COMPLEX

The architect designed the building with high ceilings and stone floors to keep the interior cool during the peak of the summer heat.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology 1

From Middle English cool, from Old English cōl (“cool, cold, tranquil, calm”), from Proto-West Germanic kōl(ī), from Proto-Germanic kōlaz, kōluz (“cool”), from kalaną (“to be cold, to freeze”), Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to be cold, to freeze”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian kuul, kölj (“cold”), Saterland Frisian köil (“cool”), West Frisian koel (“cool”), Cimbrian khuul (“chilly, cool”), Dutch koel (“cool”), German kühl (“cool”), Low German köhl (“cool”), Luxembourgish kill (“cool”), Vilamovian kił (“cool”); also Latin gelū, gelum, gelus (“frost; chill, cold”), Belarusian хо́лад (xólad, “cold”), Bulgarian хлад (hlad, “chill, coolness”), Czech chlad (“cold”), Macedonian лад (lad, “shade; coolness”), Polish chłód (“cold”), Russian and Ukrainian хо́лод (xólod, “cold”), Serbo-Croatian хла̑д, hlȃd (“shade”), Sanskrit जड (jaḍa, “cold; stiff”), जल (jala, “water”). Related to cold.

Etymology 2

From Middle English colen, from Old English cōlian (“to cool, grow cold, be cold”), from Proto-West Germanic kōlēn (“to become cold”), from Proto-Indo-European gel- (“to freeze”). Cognate with Dutch koelen (“to cool”), German kühlen (“to cool”), Swedish kyla (“to cool, refrigerate”). Also partially from Middle English kelen, from Old English cēlan (“to cool, be cold, become cold”), from Proto-West Germanic kōlijan, from Proto-Germanic kōlijaną (“to cool”), altered to resemble the adjective cool. See keel.

Usage

As an adjective, it is gradable and can be used in comparative and superlative forms.

Pitfall

I am very coolI am very coldLearners often use 'cool' when they mean they feel uncomfortably cold, but 'cool' usually implies a pleasant or stylish quality.

Idioms10 entries

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