adj · noun · 5 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
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CMU ARPABET:R IH0 F R IH1 JH ER0 AH0 N T
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
That cools or freezes; providing relief from heat or fever.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete
Examples
1627, Francis Bacon, Sylua Syluarum: or A Naturall Historie in Ten Centuries, London: William Lee, VIII. Century, p. 204, This Experiment may be transferred vnto the Cure of Gangrenes, either Comming of themselues, or induced by too much Applying of Opiates: Wherein you must beware of Dry Heat, and resort to Things that are Refrigerant, with an Inward Warmth, and Vertue of Cherishing.
1859, Richard Francis Burton, The Lake Regions of Central Equatorial Africa, Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London, Volume 29, Chapter 2, pp. 54-55, They employ the coco-nut extensively; [...] This immoderate use of the fruit is, according to the people, far from wholesome: it is considered, by its refrigerant properties, to cause rheumatic pains [...]
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A substance used in a heat cycle that undergoes a phase change between gas and liquid to allow the cooling, as in refrigerators, air conditioners, etc.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
That which makes cool or cold, such as a medicine for allaying the symptoms of fever.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
1783, Hugh Blair, Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres, Dublin: Whitestone et al., Volume 2, Lecture 32, p. 403, [...] never give warning that you are about to be pathetic; and call upon your hearers, as is sometimes done, to follow you in the attempt. This almost never fails to prove a refrigerant to passion.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
adjective satellite
Meaning 4
causing cooling or freezing
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
a refrigerant substance such as ice or solid carbon dioxide
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: refrigerating
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
any substance used to provide cooling (as in a refrigerator)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: substance
Narrower terms: cryogen
History
Etymology
From Latin refrīgerāns, present participle of refrīgerō (“to cool, to refresh”).
Across languages
Translations
18 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Chinese Mandarin:
製冷劑 /制冷剂
(zhìlěngjì)
— substance undergoing phase change
Chinese Mandarin:
冷凍劑 /冷冻剂
(lěngdòngjì)
— substance undergoing phase change
Chinese Mandarin:
冷媒
(lěngméi)
— substance undergoing phase change
Chinese Mandarin:
雪種 /雪种
(xuězhǒng)
— substance undergoing phase change
