Def.- Not affectionate or friendly; exhibiting or feeling no enthusiasm.
Syn.- emotionless, distant, apathetic, joyless, passionless, stony
"Do you feel superior to me?" I asked him. "Of course," he said. "Don't be a damned fool. I am superior to you. I am superior to any man blacker than me" "Is that why you hate me?" I asked him. "Exactly," he said. "Because that superior sonofabitch out there said I am you."
- A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest J. Gaines
Although this passage may seem like the tone would be cocky, or even taunting, it appears to be said with hardly any emotion. This causes it to have a tone of coldness. It is evident because there is no exclamation marks to emphasize any heighten emotion. Also, " I am superior to you" and "Because that superior sonofabitch out there said I am" aren't exactly positive complilments.