parched

American  

[pahrcht] / pɑrtʃt /

adjective

1. extremely or completely dried, as by heat, sun, or wind.

   Dry shrubs cover parts of this parched valley in the South Hebron Hills.

2. very thirsty.

   After each shift in the ship’s engine room, I was dead tired and totally parched, needing large amounts of water.

3. (of peas, beans, grains, etc.) slightly toasted or roasted.

   The village folk customarily have one meal a day of parched grains, so there is always a crowd around the old widow’s oven.

---

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of parch.

Other Word Forms

• parchedly adverb
• parchedness noun
• unparched adjective

Etymology

Origin of parched

parch ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

She had been strolling down the Walk of Fame, parched after taking a three-hour guided tour of Los Angeles, when the bright red store colors caught her eye.

From Los Angeles Times

She shifted haphazardly back into a girl, her throat suddenly parched.

From Literature

Now those former hay fields sit dry, with weeds poking through the parched soil.

From Los Angeles Times

It had been about six decades since downtown was this parched.

From Los Angeles Times

That’s not just from the recent storms — early-season rains tend to soak into the parched ground — but also because California is building on three prior wet winters, state climatologist Michael Anderson said.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• arid
• scorched
• thirsty
• withered