scorch

[ skawrch ]
See synonyms for: scorchscorchedscorchesscorching on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to affect the color, taste, etc., of by burning slightly: The collar of the shirt was yellow where the iron had scorched it.

  2. to parch or shrivel with heat: The sun scorched the grass.

  1. to criticize severely.

  2. Machinery. burn1 (def. 32).

  3. to destroy (crops, towns, etc.) by or as if by fire in the path of an invading army's advance.

verb (used without object)
  1. to become scorched: Milk scorches easily.

  2. Informal. to travel or drive at high speed: The car scorched along the highway.

noun
  1. a superficial burn.

Origin of scorch

1
1400–50; late Middle English scorchen, perhaps blend of scorcnen (<Scandinavian; compare Old Norse skorpna to shrivel) and torch1

synonym study For scorch

1. See burn1.

Other words for scorch

Opposites for scorch

Other words from scorch

  • un·scorched, adjective
  • well-scorched, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use scorch in a sentence

  • As soon as his meagre back was turned Knight stooped and retrieved the letter in its envelope, unscorched, from the fireplace.

    The Second Latchkey | Charles Norris Williamson and Alice Muriel Williamson
  • She had been tried in the fires of hell and came forth unscorched.

    The Foolish Virgin | Thomas Dixon
  • This raking of ashes in the hope of finding something of value unscorched was not a pleasant task for the young lawyer.

    Kennedy Square | F. Hopkinson Smith
  • His brain felt withered, his mind had only one of its many-sighted eyes left open and unscorched.

    Aaron's Rod | D. H. Lawrence
  • If he threw them into the fire, they hopped back to him unscorched; if he killed them, others came to take their place.

British Dictionary definitions for scorch

scorch

/ (skɔːtʃ) /


verb
  1. to burn or become burnt, so as to affect the colour, taste, etc, or to cause or feel pain

  2. to wither or parch or cause to wither from exposure to heat

  1. (intr) informal to be very hot: it is scorching outside

  2. (tr) informal to criticize harshly

  3. (intr) British slang to drive or ride very fast

noun
  1. a slight burn

  2. a mark caused by the application of too great heat

  1. horticulture a mark or series of marks on fruit, vegetables, etc, caused by pests or insecticides

Origin of scorch

1
C15: probably from Old Norse skorpna to shrivel up

Derived forms of scorch

  • scorching, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012