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.
World Cup matches will be played with the stadium's roof closed, but outside the climate-controlled venue, Houston's streets will likely see scorching summer temperatures with a heat index hovering around 40 Celsius.
From Barron's • May 12, 2026
But it isn’t always so seamless for Korda, who has a knack for finding utterly scorching form or going ice cold.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 5, 2026
Summers can be deadly in India, where the scorching heat causes various heat-related ailments in people and has even resulted in deaths.
From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026
Reuniting with original drummer Carlos, the band played a scorching set that had the crowd on its feet.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026
Then very quickly the frightful burning searing scorching feeling started spreading down into my chest and into my tummy and on and on into my arms and legs and all over my body!
From "The Witches" by Roald Dahl
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.
