chilly climate

noun

A male-dominated environment where both overt and subtle forms of discrimination lead to the unequal treatment of women

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Meanings

nounchilly climate (plural chilly climates)

plural chilly climates

  1. idiomaticA male-dominated environment where both overt and subtle forms of discrimination lead to the unequal treatment of women

    A chilly climate is not conducive for women students' learning...

    2008, Kimberly Turner Helms, Self-reflection During Transition to College, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, page 39
    1 more example

    Most frequently, issues of chilly climate are noted among women pursuing doctorates in the sciences and engineering.

    2012, Margaret W Sallee, “The Individual and the Institution”, in On Becoming a Scholar: Socialization and Development in Doctoral Education, page 141

Origin

chilly (“unfriendly or distant and cool”) + climate (“the context in general of a particular situation”)

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

chilly climate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chilly%20climate

MLA

“chilly climate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chilly%20climate. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “chilly climate,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chilly%20climate.

Source: chilly climate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.