sere

¹ American  

[seer] / sɪər /

Or sear

adjective

1. dry; withered.

   Synonyms:

   wizened, desiccated, arid

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sere ² American  

[seer] / sɪər /

noun

1. the series of stages in an ecological succession.

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sere ¹ British  

/ sɪə /

adjective

1. archaic dried up or withered

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verb

1. a rare spelling of sear 1

sere ² British  

/ sɪə /

noun

1. the series of changes occurring in the ecological succession of a particular community

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sere Scientific  

/ sîr /

1. The entire sequence of ecological communities successively occupying an area from the initial stage to the climax community.

2. See more at succession

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Etymology

Origin of sere¹

before 900; Middle English seer ( e ), Old English sēar; sear ¹

Origin of sere²

First recorded in 1915–20; back formation from series

Explanation

You can describe something that is dried up, withered, or without moisture with the adjective sere. The desert climate, for example, is sere, as is your skin after a day in the wind. Sere’s shriveled and withered meaning crops up in things like Shakespeare's Macbeth ("My way of life Is fall’n into the sere, the yellow leaf;" 5:III), or in archaic references to Sere-month (August), but it isn't frequently used in modern conversation. The variant spelling of sere is sear, which has other meanings that see more modern use.

Example Sentences

Indeed, the opening image of “Bardo” suggests that Iñárritu has created “Birdman 2.0,” as a man, seen only as his shadow, repeatedly takes flight over a sere desert landscape.

From Washington Post • Nov. 9, 2022

And in that sere landscape, you watch as a man’s identity dries up and blows away.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 8, 2022

The landscape is dry and sere, but a ribbon of green shrubs and trees flourishes along the creek.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 4, 2021

I fear the only people who ate the treats from that American airdrop were journalists scouring the sere landscape for shiny packets of cookies.

From New York Times • Jan. 2, 2021

It shows the river rolling lazily between meadowy fields dotted with trees and farms, against a distant backdrop of sere hills, notched with a V where the river passes through.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson