✅ Freeze means to turn to ice, but it can also mean to be extremely cold, to feel as if part of you has turned to ice through fear or shock, or to go completely still (The water will freeze at these temperatures; A strange noise in the dark made him freeze in place).

✅ Chill means to become or make something become cold, but it can also informally mean to relax (I chilled the pie before serving; We decided to chill after work).

✅ Chilling something means to make something cold, whereas freezing means to bring it to the temperature at which liquids turn solid. Freeze suggests a greater cold than chill.

✅ Frost refers to a covering of tiny ice needles or ice particles on a surface (Frost covered the leaves).

✅ Hoarfrost refers specifically to the covering of ice needles on external surfaces such as windows or rocks (The car was covered in hoarfrost).

✅ Frost can form in additional places, such as in your freezer, and hoarfrost isn’t used in that circumstance (The hash browns from the freezer were covered in frost).

✅ Hoarfrost is limited to its literal sense, while frost can also refer to a coldness of manner or temperament (A frost had come over his smile).

✅ Bleak describes something that is cold in a piercing way or something that is depressing. These two senses often coincide in descriptions of bleak weather (I stayed inside because it looked so cold and bleak outside; Her prospects were bleak).

✅ Grim describes things that are harsh or unpleasant. Both these senses are also often used when describing people and weather phenomena (I hated camping in the grim weather).

✅ Bleak suggests cold weather, especially weather that involves snow, rain, or wind. Grim suggests unpleasant weather but not necessarily cold weather.

✅ Bleak can also describe hopeless situations (Their prospects were bleak), and grim can also describe things that are stern, sinister, or cruel (He had a grim countenance).