blistering
Americanadjective
-
(of weather) extremely hot
-
(of criticism) extremely harsh
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of blistering
Explanation
Use the adjective blistering to mean extremely hot. You might love living in Georgia, except for the blistering heat in the summer time. A baker has to remove her loaves of bread carefully from the oven because of the blistering heat. You can also use blistering to mean a different kind of heat: "Her blistering criticism took him by surprise." Or a racer might set out on a track at a blistering pace, one that's incredibly fast or impressive. The original, hot meaning of blistering comes from the idea that something is "hot enough to form blisters."
Vocabulary lists containing blistering
The Sweltering Words of Summer
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The Kite Runner
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This Week in Words: September 25 - October 1, 2017
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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.
The music won over the suits, and the Bayou Boys soon had their own daily program, “Hayloft Hoedown,” a mix of blistering, acoustic-only live performances and manic cornball comedy skits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
It contains a sap which irritates skin when it is exposed to sunlight and can cause blistering and swelling.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
The blistering heat also has hindered efforts to fight massive wildfires raging in Colorado and Utah.
From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 2026
Memory and storage names kicked off the first half of 2026 on a blistering run, but they’ve since suffered a sudden and aggressive selloff from their late-June peaks.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026
Celaena had already spent one blistering summer in the heat of the Red Desert, but to tell Nehemia that would only invite difficult questions.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
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.
