SCORCHING Synonyms: 129 Similar and Opposite Words

scorching 1 of 2

adjective

as in boiling

having a notably high temperature we keep indoors as much as possible during the day so as to avoid the scorching summer heat

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

scorching

2 of 2

verb

present participle of scorch

as in charring

to burn on the surface the picnickers kept scorching their marshmallows, deliberately sticking their skewers into the licking flames of the campfire

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in drying

to make dry weeks of drought had badly scorched the soil

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of scorching

Adjective

For example, just recently, Musk publicly scolded the CEO of Delta in a scorching post on X when the airline did not partner with Starlink to provide Wi-Fi on Delta flights. — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Steven Tian, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026 Large areas of Europe saw scorching temperatures this summer, with widespread wildfires, and at least 35,000 excess deaths thought to have been linked to the heat. — Robbie Griffiths, NPR, 21 Oct. 2026 Tortoises routinely seek shade under dense bushes, vanish into mangroves, or shelter from the scorching equatorial sun. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 10 Oct. 2026 There’s the brutal heat; the skin destroying UV-rays of that miserable, scorching, eye-blinding sun; the constant allergy/sinusitis issues that NEVER let up; the smothering humidity. — R. Eric Thomas, Washington Post, 8 Oct. 2026 There’s the brutal heat; the skin-destroying UV rays of that miserable, scorching, eye-blinding sun; the constant allergy/sinusitis issues that never let up; the smothering humidity. — Eric Thomas, Sun Sentinel, 8 Oct. 2026 Welcome to our selection of the most scorching titles headed to MIPCOM this year, The Deadline Dozen. — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 7 Oct. 2026 On Christmas Day, Neon will weigh in with the best of the three, Luca Guadagnino’s Artificial, a humorous and ultimately horrifying account of 20 years of AI evolution and a scorching portrait of OpenAI founder Sam Altman. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2026 The Supreme Court will open its new term Monday by hearing arguments on whether the oil and gas industry may be forced to pay damages for the scorching heat waves, wildfires and droughts that are blamed on climate change. — Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2026

Verb

Its advanced technology generates precise light pulses that cut through delicate materials such as computer chips and human tissue without scorching surrounding tissue. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2026 Tina Snow thrives in the winter, but Megan Thee Stallion is scorching in October. — Michael Saponara, Billboard, 20 Oct. 2026 Stir often but gently to prevent scorching without overworking the potatoes, which can turn them gluey. — Chris Morocco, Bon Appetit Magazine, 19 Oct. 2026 Mint does not like to dry out or overheat, so keep plants watered and provide shade during scorching summer afternoons. — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 18 Oct. 2026 That was the update last week at a meeting of the Venus Exploration Analysis Group (VEXAG), a confab of scientists whose research interests focus on the scorching world just sunward from Earth. — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 14 Oct. 2026 When Cody Turcotte arrived to fight a wildfire scorching homes in Spokane, Washington, last month, there weren't enough people at the scene to control it. — Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 21 Sep. 2026 These hardy plants withstand extreme weather, from scorching heat to harsh winters. — Abby Monteil, The Spruce, 16 Sep. 2026 But huge wildfires like 2020’s Cameron Peak and East Troublesome fires are scorching landscapes beyond recovery. — Noelle Phillips, Denver Post, 8 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for scorching

Adjective

More humane methods of killing lobsters pre-boiling include a sharp knife through the head, electrical stunning, or freezing.

— semafor.com, semafor.com, 29 Dec. 2025
Agrawal and her team studied ionic liquids — salts that are liquid at sub-boiling temperatures (below 212 degrees Fahrenheit, or 100 degrees Celsius) — as a potential hospitable environment for life.

— Stefanie Waldek, Space.com, 13 Aug. 2025

Definition of boiling

Verb

Authorities spotted a woman walking between a vehicle and a nearby pole, which showed signs of charring and smelled of gasoline.

— DeJanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 6 Oct. 2026
But the Track Fire had interrupted this picturesque scene, charring the thick tree trunks that peppered the canyon wall in New Mexico.

— Taylor Romine, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of charring

Verb

Some of these sand columns broke as they were being removed from the molds or while cutting them into pieces after the drying procedure.

— Muskan Bhatia, Interesting Engineering, 19 Oct. 2026
In the millennia and centuries that followed, people developed and refined other traditional food processing methods, including grinding, baking, fermenting, drying and pressing.

— Garrett M. Broad, The Conversation, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of drying

Adjective

Interviews are supplemented with archival clips of Perry’s screen work and interviews, and some of the show’s most searing material is conveyed in the actor’s own (previously recorded and publicized) voice.

— Alison Herman, Variety, 27 Oct. 2026
The result of hours of chopping, searing, and mixing is our second annual Gear of the Year list.

— Editors of Bon Appétit, Bon Appetit Magazine, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of searing

Adjective

Then, of course, there’s the sandwich that started it all — the Sublime, with prosciutto, hot soppressata, burrata, fresh walnut pesto, spicy garlic aioli, sundried tomatoes and arugula.

— Katelyn Umholtz, Kansas City Star, 22 Oct. 2026
Neither is the league’s hottest player, the record five-time MVP A’Ja Wilson, whose defending champion Las Vegas were swept in the semifinals by Golden State.

— Don Riddell, CNN Money, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of hot

Adjective

Prosecutors said some of the money was used for recruiting new members and purchasing Ku Klux Klan robes and materials for cross-burning ceremonies.

— ABC News, ABC News, 7 July 2026
In the case of the cross-burning incident, there is no comparison to the Jussie Smollett case.

— Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 19 June 2026

Definition of burning

Adjective

Tiny droplets of the molten tin are fired out of a cannon into a vacuum chamber, where they are shot—sixty thousand times a second—by unerring lasers.

— Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
Each color change requires it to unload one filament, load another and purge the remaining molten plastic.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of molten

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scorches

scorching

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Style

“Scorching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scorching. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of scorching

adjective

verb

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