cold read

cold read verb: to infer characteristics of (a person) using cold reading.

Verb

cold read (third-person singular simple present cold reads, present participle cold reading, simple past and past participle cold read)

(transitive) To infer characteristics of (a person) using cold reading.
- A few years ago Mort had barely been able to crawl out of his bottle long enough to cold-read credulous idiots into believing he could speak to their dead loved ones.2006, Jim Butcher, Dead Beat, page 127
- Select the person you will "cold read" ahead of time if possible. The more time you have to learn about your subject, the better.2011, Dean Amory, Mind Reading - A Practical Introduction, page 70
(intransitive) To make inferences about a person using the practice of cold reading.
- In spiritualism research, feedback is often used — this can be interpreted as giving the medium the chance to 'cold read'. However, feedback may be necessary […]2004, The Paranormal Review, numbers 29-36, page 30
(intransitive, transitive) To perform (a script) without preparation.
- At the audition you will be required to cold read a script.

cold read (plural cold reads)

An act of cold reading.
- This is an example of what magicians (and unfortunately phony psychics) call a "cold read".

Verb
third-person singular present	cold reads
present participle	cold reading
past participle	cold read
past	cold read
Noun
plural	cold reads

What does cold read mean?: Cold read means to infer characteristics of (a person) using cold reading.
What part of speech is cold read?: Cold read can be a verb or a noun.
What is the past tense of cold read?: The past tense of cold read is cold read.

Adapted from Wiktionary: cold read (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “cold read.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/cold_read. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.