cold turkey

C

cold turkey

Meaning | Synonyms

• in a unexpected and sudden way
• stop a habit (esp. bad habit) suddenly
• stop a habit without tapering off
• withdraw abruptly and completely
• the sudden ending of taking a medication or drug to which one is addicted

Example Sentences

1. He had been trying to quit smoking since a year but couldn’t, so he decided to go cold turkey.
2. When drug addicts go cold turkey they experience a period of extreme suffering.
3. He went cold turkey on his drinking habit two years ago and hasn’t had a drink since.
4. If you are unable to control your habit, consider going cold turkey.
5. To cure his addiction to video games, he decided to go cold turkey and gave his entire collection away.
6. The experts quit cold turkey, leaving the part timers to finish the job.
7. He had been addicted to dating apps lately, so he decided to go cold turkey and deleted all of them.
8. If all other attempts at quitting fails, you should go cold turkey.

Origin

This phrase originated in the early 1900s. Initial usage points to a meaning of something happening abruptly. Since 1921, it referred to a treatment of drug addiction, where the addict was made to quit abruptly. Now, it means breaking any habit abruptly, but is mostly used for bad habits.

Bird, Cold, Medical