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.
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.”
Opposites
2. noun dated slang
Blunt, unvarnished talk that gets straight to the unpleasant point.
“He talked cold turkey to the crew about the layoffs.”
How to Use Cold Turkey
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
Informal but universally understood, including in medical settings where it describes unassisted withdrawal.
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.