In cool temperate regions, large emissions of nitrous oxide (N₂O), an important greenhouse and ozone-depleting gas, have been observed during freeze–thaw (FT) cycles. However, it is unclear how freezing and thawing rates, freezing intensity, and freezing duration influence N₂O emissions. We used a laboratory incubation to measure N₂O emissions from two soils (sandy loam, silty clay) undergoing a single FT cycle of various freezing and thawing rates [rapid (0.5 °C h^-1) vs. slow (0.017 °C h^-1)], freezing intensity (-1 vs. -3 °C), and freezing duration (24 vs. 48 freezing degree-days). In general, soil carbon dioxide fluxes during freezing were highest when soils were frozen slowly at -1 °C, whereas fluxes after thawing were highest from the soils frozen and thawed rapidly at -3 °C. Soil N₂O emissions during both the freezing and thawing periods were greatest in the soils exposed to rapid freezing to -3 °C, intermediate under rapid freezing to -1 °C and slow freezing to -3 °C, and smallest under slow freezing to -1 °C and the control treatment (constant +1 °C). The similar N₂O emissions between the unfrozen control and the slowly frozen -1 °C treatment was unexpected as previous field studies with similar freezing rates and temperatures still experienced high N₂O emissions during thaw. This suggests that the physical disruptions caused by freezing and thawing of the surface soil are not the primary driver of FT-induced N₂O emissions under field conditions.