- present participle of blister.
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.
The Nasdaq was powered to records by the outlook for blistering AI earnings growth, said J.D.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
Wood played a key role in helping England come from 2-0 down in the 2023 Ashes, with his return to the team - and blistering spells of bowling - helping them level the series.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
The result was bubbling, blistering and peeling that appeared just weeks after the renovation was completed.
From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026
Punishingly hot temperatures coupled with drastically high humidity will peak Wednesday, making temperatures feel even more intense than previously blistering days, with real relief not expected to arrive until Friday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Pollard could sense the pace as they straightened down the backstretch: blistering fast.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
