Phrase guide

boiling frog

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈbɔɪlɪŋ ˌfɹɒɡ/
  • General-American: /ˈbɔɪlɪŋ ˌfɹɑɡ/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A person who, or thing which, is in a gradually worsening situation without any realization of the peril until it is too late.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: attributive, idiomatic, often

Examples

  • Environmental pollution and the overconsumption of nonreplenishable resources is the boiling frog syndrome of the 21st century.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From a widespread misconception describing a frog slowly being boiled alive. The premise is that if a frog is placed in boiling water, it will jump out, but if it is placed in cold water that is slowly heated, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death.

Across languages

Translations

3 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 溫水煮青蛙 /温水煮青蛙 (wēnshuǐ zhǔ qīngwā) — person or thing in a gradually worsening situation without any realization of the peril
  • Chinese Mandarin: 溫水煮蛙 /温水煮蛙 (wēnshuǐ zhǔ wā) — person or thing in a gradually worsening situation without any realization of the peril
  • Serbo-Croatian: kuhanje žabe — person or thing in a gradually worsening situation without any realization of the peril