sere

¹ American  

[seer] / sɪər /

Or sear

adjective

1. dry; withered.

   Synonyms:

   wizened, desiccated, arid

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sere ² American  

[seer] / sɪər /

noun

1. the series of stages in an ecological succession.

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sere ¹ British  

/ sɪə /

adjective

1. archaic dried up or withered

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verb

1. a rare spelling of sear 1

sere ² British  

/ sɪə /

noun

1. the series of changes occurring in the ecological succession of a particular community

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sere Scientific  

/ sîr /

1. The entire sequence of ecological communities successively occupying an area from the initial stage to the climax community.

2. See more at succession

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Etymology

Origin of sere¹

before 900; Middle English seer ( e ), Old English sēar; see sear ¹

Origin of sere²

First recorded in 1915–20; back formation from series

Explanation

You can describe something that is dried up, withered, or without moisture with the adjective sere. The desert climate, for example, is sere, as is your skin after a day in the wind. Sere’s shriveled and withered meaning crops up in things like Shakespeare's Macbeth ("My way of life Is fall’n into the sere, the yellow leaf;" 5:III), or in archaic references to Sere-month (August), but it isn't frequently used in modern conversation. The variant spelling of sere is sear, which has other meanings that see more modern use.

Example Sentences

Born in Sotuma Sere, a village in Eastern Gambia, Mr. Touray moved to the country through a program for “young democrats,” his daughter Fatiah Touray, 38, said.

From New York Times • Jan. 12, 2022

Despite a lethargic showing against Burkina Faso in the last four, Nigeria left it late as Ahmed Musa slot home beyond inspirational Stallions goalkeeper Sere Amadou deep into extra time.

From BBC • Apr. 17, 2010

So I like to look on you, Sere Leaf.’

From The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine, February 1844 Volume 23, Number 2 by Various

The notes rose where the dark trees knelt; Their fiery joy made stillness melt As flame in woods the low boughs burns, Sere leaves, dry bushes, flame-shaped ferns.

From Poems New and Old by Freeman, John

Sere, clear, dear—Now they have finished, 'Jamais, monsieur', and begun crying, 'Fire!'

From The Cords of Vanity A Comedy of Shirking by Cabell, James Branch