scorching
Americanadjective
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burning; very hot.
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caustic or scathing.
a scorching denunciation.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of scorching
Explanation
Use the adjective scorching to mean extremely hot. The scorching heat from a wildfire tar on roads and char nearby houses and trees. There's a huge difference between a warm day and a scorching one; the word implies a brutal heat. If the weather is scorching, you'll be desperate for air conditioning, iced drinks, or the relief of a cold shower. You can also use it to mean "harsh," like a critic's scorching review of a really terrible movie. Etymologists suspect that scorching is derived from the Old Norse skorpna, "to be shriveled."
Vocabulary lists containing scorching
A Rover's Story
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I Survived the San Francisco Earthquake, 1906
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The School for Invisible Boys
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Scorching temperatures that baked Southern California over Labor Day weekend will continue this week paired with thunderstorms and lightning strikes that will heighten fire risks across much of the state.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 2, 2025
Scorching heat is also threatening winter staples such as wheat, chickpea and rapeseed.
From BBC • Mar. 9, 2025
Scorching heat and dry weather this summer have contributed to unusually severe wildfires in Europe, including in Spain's La Palma island in July, and Canada.
From Reuters • Aug. 19, 2023
Scorching beach sand and bathtub-warm ocean water won’t offer much relief.
From Scientific American • Aug. 18, 2023
Scorching around the far turn, Seabiscuit had the lead.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
