Chilling

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈt͡ʃɪlɪŋ/

Definitions

1. Causing a sensation of coldness or a creeping fear that evokes unease or alarm The process of making something cool or cold by removing heat The state of unwinding or resting in a calm and easygoing manner
2. Producing an icy or spine-tingling effect that unsettles or frightens Reducing warmth in objects or environments to preserve or prepare them Experiencing a laid-back break from activity, often spent with friends or alone
3. Generating a strong feeling of fear or dread that provokes discomfort or alarm Bringing down the temperature of something significantly until it becomes cold or cool Engaging in a relaxed and leisurely activity intended to rest and rejuvenate

Etymology: "Chilling" is simply "chill" with the suffix "-ing" attached, and the two parts have very different histories. "Chill" goes back to Old English "ciele" and related forms, meaning coldness, and it carried the sense of cold for centuries before it was ever used for a frightening shiver. The suffix "-ing" turns a verb into a participle or adjective, so "chilling" describes something that is producing the effect of chill. The word's three senses follow a clear path from temperature to emotion. Cooling something down came first, and the sense of a sudden fear or dread grew out of the physical shiver that cold, or fear, produces in the body. The leisurely sense, as in "chilling out," is a much later American extension, where the cool, unhurried state of relaxing took on the idea of simply unwinding.

Synonyms: cooling, relaxing, unwinding

Antonyms: heating, agitating