froideur
noun
froi·deur ˌf(r)wä-ˈdər 
-ˈdœr
: coolness or extreme reserve in manner
… glaring at reporters from beneath her jet-black eyebrows, lasering unwelcome questions with arctic blasts of froideur.
Tom Shone and Nicoletta Santoro
Tom Shone and Nicoletta SantoroThere was, as befitting his Scandinavian froideur, little outward sign of emotion … Oliver Brown
Oliver Brown
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web When our conversation neared the subject of partisan influence on the Exchange, Rinat evinced a tactful froideur. Wired, 15 July 2022 Inna and Maksym still loved their parents, and spoke to them often, but the tumult of 2014 created an intergenerational froideur. Ed Caesar, The New Yorker, 20 June 2022 Christie, on the other hand, nails the icy froideur of a top-tier arts administrator, all murderous self-interest under a thin veneer of jocularity and red satin. Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Feb. 2022 There is a froideur, a coldness, in some interactions. Rachel Donadio, The Atlantic, 22 Nov. 2021 His runway shows, too, were some of fashion’s most fun, with good music, snacks, and revelry replacing the froideur that can permeate other events. Steff Yotka, Vogue, 28 July 2021 Patient, composed, and cool to the point of froideur, Martin Scorsese’s latest film, speculating on the fate of Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino), slows the passage of time. Natan Last, The New Yorker, 29 Nov. 2019 Such is the method of the movie: patient, composed, and cool to the point of froideur. Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2019 There’s no hint of formal froideur from the smiling young staffers, dressed in breezy contemporary uniforms by 26-year-old designer Hugo Matha. Christopher Bagley, CNT, 6 Sep. 2017 See More
Wired, 15 July 2022 Inna and Maksym still loved their parents, and spoke to them often, but the tumult of 2014 created an intergenerational froideur. Ed Caesar, The New Yorker, 20 June 2022 Christie, on the other hand, nails the icy froideur of a top-tier arts administrator, all murderous self-interest under a thin veneer of jocularity and red satin. Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Feb. 2022 There is a froideur, a coldness, in some interactions. Rachel Donadio, The Atlantic, 22 Nov. 2021 His runway shows, too, were some of fashion’s most fun, with good music, snacks, and revelry replacing the froideur that can permeate other events. Steff Yotka, Vogue, 28 July 2021 Patient, composed, and cool to the point of froideur, Martin Scorsese’s latest film, speculating on the fate of Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino), slows the passage of time. Natan Last, The New Yorker, 29 Nov. 2019 Such is the method of the movie: patient, composed, and cool to the point of froideur. Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2019 There’s no hint of formal froideur from the smiling young staffers, dressed in breezy contemporary uniforms by 26-year-old designer Hugo Matha. Christopher Bagley, CNT, 6 Sep. 2017 See More Word History
Etymology
borrowed from French, literally, "chill, cold," going back to Old French freidur, froidour, from freid, froid "cold" (going back to Latin frīgidus) + -ur, -our -or entry 2 — more at frigid
First Known Use
1645, in the meaning defined above