sear

[seer]

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verb (used with object)

to burn or char the surface of: She seared the steak to seal in the juices.

to mark with a branding iron.

to burn or scorch injuriously or painfully: He seared his hand on a hot steam pipe.

to make callous or unfeeling; harden: The hardship of her youth has seared her emotionally.

to dry up or wither; parch.

verb (used without object)

to become dry or withered, as vegetation.

noun

a mark or scar made by searing.

adjective

sere¹.

Origin of sear

before 900; (adj.) Middle English sere, Old English sēar; cognate with Dutch zoor; (v.) Middle English seren, Old English sēarian, derivative of sēar

Related formsun·seared, adjective

Synonym study

1. See burn¹.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for seared

toast, blight, sizzle, scorch, brown, dehydrate, wilt, brand, parch, cauterize, harden, cook, wither, exsiccate, seal, desiccate, tan, shrivel

Examples from the Web for seared

Contemporary Examples of seared

It will, however, be a memory that is seared in the brains of Britons for years to come.
Andy Murray Makes History by Winning Wimbledon
Nicholas McCarvel
July 7, 2013
Our citizens, seared by the memory of those we have lost, know too well the price that is paid for liberty.
Full Text of President Obama's Inaugural Address
Justin Green
January 21, 2013
I had an intimate encounter with just such a seared ego, recently burned by his once-trusted chronicler.
The Perils of Biography in the Bradlee-Himmelman Storm
Lee Siegel
May 20, 2012
More lamb is seared over burning coals and the wine keeps flowing.
Harvesting EVOO Down Under
Jeremy Meltzer
April 27, 2011
For cookbook author Deborah Krasner the best way to have a burger for dinner is without a bun and seared in salt.
The Perfect Burger (Sans Bun)
Deborah Krasner
November 1, 2010

Historical Examples of seared

Some scenes have been so seared into my brain that I can never forget them.
In the Midst of Alarms
Robert Barr
Unless something happened, and that quickly, they would be seared to a crisp.
Pirates of the Gorm
Nat Schachner
They seared her very soul, and she began to know the meaning of shame.
The Scapegoat
Hall Caine
His face looked grey and haggard; the lines that seared it were lines of pain.
The Trampling of the Lilies
Rafael Sabatini
A wave of Mercurians surged in, to be seared into nothingness by his weapon.
The Great Dome on Mercury
Arthur Leo Zagat

British Dictionary definitions for seared

sear

verb (tr)

to scorch or burn the surface of

to brand with a hot iron

to cause to wither or dry up

rare to make callous or unfeeling

noun

a mark caused by searing

adjective

poetic dried up

Word Origin for sear

Old English sēarian to become withered, from sēar withered; related to Old High German sōrēn, Greek hauos dry, Sanskrit sōsa drought

sear

noun

the catch in the lock of a small firearm that holds the hammer or firing pin cocked

Word Origin for sear

C16: probably from Old French serre a clasp, from serrer to hold firmly, from Late Latin sērāre to bolt, from Latin sera a bar

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for seared

sear

Old English searian (intransitive) "dry up, to wither," from Proto-Germanic *saurajan (cf. Middle Dutch soor "dry," Old High German soren "become dry"), from root of sear "dried up, withered" (see sere). Meaning "cause to wither" is from early 15c. Meaning "to brand, to burn by hot iron" is recorded from c.1400, originally especially of cauterizing wounds; figurative use is from 1580s. Related: Seared; searing.