cold turkey

4 synonyms and 2 antonyms for cold turkey, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Noun — The abrupt and complete withdrawal from an addictive substance, without tapering the dose or using any medication to soften the effects; also the physical symptoms this produces.

Synonyms

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

abrupt withdrawal going cold turkey straight talk plain speaking

Synonyms by Meaning

1. noun

The abrupt and complete withdrawal from an addictive substance, without tapering the dose or using any medication to soften the effects; also the physical symptoms this produces.

“He quit heroin cold turkey and shook for four days straight.”

abrupt withdrawal going cold turkey

Opposites

tapering weaning off

2. noun dated slang

Blunt, unvarnished talk that gets straight to the unpleasant point.

“He talked cold turkey to the crew about the layoffs.”

straight talk plain speaking

How to use cold turkey

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

go cold turkey quit cold turkey cold turkey withdrawal stop cold turkey

Informal but universally understood, including in medical settings where it describes unassisted withdrawal.

Etymology

Various explanations; see Cold turkey § Etymology on Wikipedia.

Full origin of cold turkey →

Frequently asked questions

What does going cold turkey mean?

It means stopping an addictive habit all at once instead of cutting down gradually. The phrase is used most often about drugs, alcohol and cigarettes, but people also apply it loosely to sugar, gambling or screen time.

Is quitting cold turkey safe?

It depends entirely on the substance. Stopping nicotine or caffeine abruptly is uncomfortable but not dangerous, whereas suddenly stopping alcohol or benzodiazepines after heavy long-term use can cause seizures and can be fatal, so medical supervision is needed.

Why is it called cold turkey?

The origin is not settled. A widely repeated explanation links it to the cold, goose-pimpled skin of someone in withdrawal, but this is a popular guess rather than documented fact.

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Nearby words

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