sear

Meaning

Adj

Dry; withered, especially of vegetation.

Verb

1. To char, scorch, or burn the surface of (something) with a hot instrument.
2. To wither; to dry up.
3. To make callous or insensible.
4. To mark permanently, as if by burning.

Noun

1. A scar produced by searing
2. Part of a gun that retards the hammer until the trigger is pulled.

Synonyms

scorch

burn

singe

parch

char

sere

withered

cauterize

toast

roast

blacken

be seared

strike out

dried-up

dry

wither

bake

faded

barbecue

shriveled

shrivelled

sting

kiln

languishing

limp

overprint

parched

put out

retire

scald

scathe

seduce

shrivel

smoke

tag

tingle

torch

torrefy

urticate

warm

☀️

wilted

wizen

combust

make hot

set afire

sunburn

sweal

4

heat thoroughly

wizened

blaze

blow

brand

brown

burn down

burn off

burn up

calcine

cauterise

cook

🧑‍🍳

cremate

dehydrate

die

💀

drain

dry up

fan

fire

🔥

fritter away

fry

grill

hold

Pronounced as (IPA)

/sɪɚ/

Etymology

From Middle English sere, seer, seere, from Old English sēar, sīere (“dry, sere, sear, withered, barren”), from Proto-West Germanic *sauʀ(ī), from Proto-Germanic *sauzaz (“dry”), from Proto-Indo-European *sh₂ews- (“dry, parched”) (also reconstructed as *h₂sews-).
Cognate with Dutch zoor (“dry, rough”), Low German soor (“dry”), German sohr (“parched, dried up”), dialectal Norwegian søyr (“the desiccation and death of a tree”), Lithuanian saũsas (“dry”), Homeric Ancient Greek αὖος (aûos, “dry”). Doublet of sere and sare.