thaw

[thaw] /θɔ/
verb (used without object)
1.
to pass or change from a frozen to a liquid or semiliquid state; melt.
2.
to be freed from the physical effect of frost or extreme cold (sometimes followed by out):
Sit by the fire and thaw out.
3.
(of the weather) to become warm enough to melt ice and snow:
It will probably thaw today.
4.
to become less formal, reserved, or aloof:
He thawed at their kindness.
5.
to become less hostile or tense:
International relations thawed.
verb (used with object)
6.
to cause to change from a frozen to a liquid or semiliquid state; melt.
7.
to free from the physical effect of frost or extreme cold; bring to a more normal temperature, especially to room temperature:
I took the steaks out of the freezer and thawed them.
8.
to make less cold, formal, or reserved.
9.
to make less tense or hostile.
noun
10.
the act or process of thawing.
11.
the act or fact of becoming less formal, reserved, or aloof.
12.
a reduction or easing in tension or hostility.
13.
(in winter or in areas where freezing weather is the norm) weather warm enough to melt ice and snow.
14.
a period of such weather:
We had a two-week thaw in January.
15.
the thaw, the first day in the year when ice in harbors, rivers, etc., breaks up or loosens enough to begin flowing to the sea, allowing navigation:
The Anchorage thaw came on May 18th.
Origin
before 1000; (v.) Middle English thawen, Old English thawian; cognate with Dutch dooien, Old Norse theyja; (noun) late Middle English, derivative of the v.
Related forms
thawless, adjective
rethaw, verb
underthaw, verb
unthawed, adjective
unthawing, adjective
Can be confused
evanesce, evaporate, liquefy, melt, thaw, transpire, vaporize.
evanescence, evaporation, liquefaction, melting, thawing, transpiration, vaporization.
Synonyms
1. See melt1 . 2, 8. warm.
Antonyms
1. freeze.
Examples from the web for thaw
  • thaw overnight in the fridge, or put a container in a bowl of warm water to thaw if you're in a hurry.
  • Never thaw food at room temperature, on a counter or in warm water.
  • And while it's nowhere near a return to the go-go years preceding the recession, the moves represent a significant thaw.
  • The end of the cold war did not produce a thaw throughout the continent.
  • Climate change may threaten the natural freeze and thaw cycles of permafrost.
  • To see the flaw in this system, thaw out a can of frozen strawberries.
  • Farther north, the permafrost is colder to begin with, requiring more heat to initiate a thaw.
  • In the past few weeks, there have been signs of a thaw.
  • The best fish to buy frozen, how to thaw it, and what to look for in a label.
  • Holden is the married executive who tries to thaw her out during his own seething midlife crisis.
British Dictionary definitions for thaw

thaw

/θɔː/
verb
1.
to melt or cause to melt from a solid frozen state: the snow thawed
2.
to become or cause to become unfrozen; defrost
3.
(intransitive) to be the case that the ice or snow is melting: it's thawing fast
4.
(intransitive) to become more sociable, relaxed, or friendly
noun
5.
the act or process of thawing
6.
a spell of relatively warm weather, causing snow or ice to melt
7.
an increase in relaxation or friendliness
Derived Forms
thawer, noun
thawless, adjective
Word Origin
Old English thawian; related to Old High German douwen to thaw, Old Norse theyja to thaw, Latin tabēre to waste away
Word Origin and History for thaw
v.

Old English þawian, from Proto-Germanic *thawojanan (cf. Old Norse þeyja, Middle Low German doien, Dutch dooien, Old High German douwen, German tauen "to thaw"), from PIE root *ta- "to melt, dissolve" (cf. Sanskrit toyam "water," Ossetic thayun "to thaw," Welsh tawadd "molten," Doric Greek takein "to melt, waste, be consumed," Old Irish tam "pestilence," Latin tabes "a melting, wasting away, putrefaction," Old Church Slavonic tajati "to melt"). Related: Thawed; thawing.

n.

c.1400, from thaw (v.). Figurative sense of "relaxation of political harshness or hostility" is recorded from 1950, an image from the "Cold War."