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white-hot

American  
[hwahyt-hot, wahyt-] / ˈʰwaɪtˈhɒt, ˈwaɪt- /

adjective

  1. extremely hot.

  2. showing white heat.

  3. exceedingly enthusiastic, ardent, angry, devoted, etc.; impassioned; perfervid.

    a fierce, white-hot loyalty to the king.
white-hot British  

adjective

  1. at such a high temperature that white light is emitted

  2. informal in a state of intense emotion

"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

Etymology

Origin of white-hot

First recorded in 1810–20

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.

Witches, demons and Satanism — anything occult — is white-hot lately.

From Salon • Apr. 1, 2026

You posted on social media that you were feeling white-hot rage.

From Slate • Jan. 26, 2026

It dove into the white-hot AI market with a surprise announcement from Karp in 2023 and has since become the mainstay data and AI contractor for the U.S. military, other government agencies and corporate customers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 11, 2025

Yet it could have been so different after Newcastle initially handled a white-hot atmosphere so well by gaining the upper hand.

From BBC • Nov. 25, 2025

She is so white-hot furious she can barely see.

From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline

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.