blistering
Americanadjective
-
(of weather) extremely hot
-
(of criticism) extremely harsh
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of blistering
Explanation
Use the adjective blistering to mean extremely hot. You might love living in Georgia, except for the blistering heat in the summer time. A baker has to remove her loaves of bread carefully from the oven because of the blistering heat. You can also use blistering to mean a different kind of heat: "Her blistering criticism took him by surprise." Or a racer might set out on a track at a blistering pace, one that's incredibly fast or impressive. The original, hot meaning of blistering comes from the idea that something is "hot enough to form blisters."
Vocabulary lists containing blistering
The Sweltering Words of Summer
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The Kite Runner
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This Week in Words: September 25 - October 1, 2017
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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.
First, the 31-year-old fired home a blistering equaliser after Marcelino Nunez slipped under no pressure, presenting Matheus Cunha with a clear run at the Ipswich goal, which allowed him to set up his captain.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
Earlier this month, the European Central Bank warned that “the rise of AI has driven a blistering rally in the tech sector, bringing stock market valuations to levels last seen during the dot-com bubble.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 29, 2026
With a blistering attack that moved faster than any other in the nation, Golesh boosted Tennessee as offensive coordinator and turned around a disastrous South Florida program as head coach.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Even so, the blistering Pasadena sun produced an unusually hostile crowd environment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
The image was burning me up from the inside out, blistering my lungs.
From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken
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.
