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.
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
Early last year, McIlroy came into the Masters scorching hot following wins at Pebble Beach and the Players Championship.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
Maybe, if you’re lucky, you’ll be treated to their scorching cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground.”
From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026
And here he was, the great one himself, scorching us all with his rays of glory.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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.
