Meanings
chilling1
comparative more chilling · superlative most chilling
- Becoming cold.
As they reached the street the ‘Duchess’ caught a swirling hem of lace about her chilling ankles.
1936, Djuna Barnes, Nightwood, Faber & Faber, published 2007, page 22 - Causing cold.
- Causing mild fear.
It was a chilling story, but the children enjoyed it.
1 more example
22 March 2012, Scott Tobias, AV Club The Hunger Gameshttp://www.avclub.com/articles/the-hunger-games,71293/ Displaying a sturdy professionalism throughout that stops just short of artistry, director Gary Ross, who co-scripted with Collins and Billy Ray, does his strongest work in the early scenes, which set up the stakes with chilling efficiency.
- gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of chill
chilling2
plural chillings
- The act by which something is chilled.
To such perceivings we give names like these: seeings, hearings, smellings, chillings and burnings, pleasures and pains, desires […]
2004, Timothy D. J. Chappell, Reading Plato's Theaetetus, page 73
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe process of becoming cooler; a falling temperature
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
chilling · adjective, verb
- Middle Englishchilling
- Englishchilling
From Middle English chilling, chelling, chyllinge, chillynge, chillande, equivalent to chill + -ing.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →chilling · noun
- Middle Englishchilling
- Englishchilling
From Middle English chilling, chillyng, chyllynge, equivalent to chill + -ing.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic مرعبه, مخيف
- مرعبهcausing mild fear
- مخيفcausing mild fear
- زاحفcausing mild fear
Catalan refrescant, esgarrifós
- refrescantcausing cold
- esgarrifóscausing mild fear
- glaçadorcausing mild fear
Danish skræmmende, uhyggelig
- skræmmendecausing mild fear
- uhyggeligcausing mild fear
Finnish viilenevä, jäähtyvä
- viileneväbecoming cold
- jäähtyväbecoming cold
- palelevabecoming cold
- viilentäväcausing cold
- jäähdyttäväcausing cold
- pelottavacausing mild fear
French effrayant
- effrayantcausing mild fear
German gruselig, unheimlich
- gruseligcausing mild fear
- unheimlichcausing mild fear
- grauenerregendcausing mild fear
Italian spaventoso
- spaventosocausing mild fear
Portuguese aterrorizante
- aterrorizantecausing mild fear
Spanish escalofriante, espeluznante
- escalofriantecausing mild fear
- espeluznantecausing mild fear
Swedish kylning, läskigt
- kylningcausing cold
- läskigtcausing mild fear
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with chilling
Cite this entry
chilling. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chilling
“chilling.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chilling. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “chilling,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chilling.
Source: chilling on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.