frozen

Made solid by cold, or kept very cold to preserve it.

• We bought frozen peas.
• The lake was completely frozen.
• Leave the frozen chicken in the fridge to thaw.

Opposites: thawed

Common phrases: frozen food, frozen peas, frozen lake

Unable to move or act, often because of fear or shock.

• She stood frozen with fear.
• We were frozen in shock after the crash.
• He remained frozen as the snake moved past him.

How to use it: frozen with something (He stood frozen with fear.); frozen in something (They remained frozen in horror as the roof collapsed.)

Similar words: motionless, paralyzed

Common phrases: frozen with fear, frozen in terror, stand frozen

Stiff or stuck in one position and unable to move.

• The lock was frozen solid.
• A frozen joint prevented the arm from bending.
• The handle remained frozen in one position.

Similar words: stuck, rigid, immovable

Common phrases: frozen joint, frozen lock, frozen mechanism

Keeping an old language form that survives only in particular words or expressions.

• This phrase contains a frozen plural.
• The frozen expression preserves an old word order.
• Students compared frozen forms with modern grammatical patterns.

Similar words: fossilized

Common phrases: frozen plural, frozen expression, frozen form