searing

adjective

sear·​ing ˈsir-iŋ How to pronounce searing (audio)
1
: very hot
2
: marked by extreme intensity, harshness, or emotional power
searing pain
a searing review
a searing portrayal
searingly adverb

Examples of searing in a Sentence

the searing heat of the fire She felt a searing pain in her foot. She made a searing attack on her political enemies.
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
At the end of the day, room could not be found for even Marianne Jean-Baptiste, a past Oscar nominee who swept the major critics awards for her searing turn in Hard Truths, or Angelina Jolie, a past Oscar winner and the A-lister of A-listers, who seemed an early front-runner for the biopic Maria. Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Jan. 2025 Working for New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller in California’s 1964 Republican presidential primary, the pair ran a searing campaign against Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater, falling just shy of an upset. Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 2025 Clinton’s comments come as Democrats have been searching for answers amid the searing presidential and Senate loss. Juliann Ventura, The Hill, 21 Nov. 2024 The Brutalist is a Fitzcarraldo fable of artistic endeavor, a universal immigrant tale and a searing indictment of capitalism Jones plays opposite Brody as Tóth’s wife, Erzsébet, in an indelible portrait of a woman physically broken by war who remains resolutely unbroken in spirit. Wendell Steavenson, Vogue, 5 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for searing 

Word History

First Known Use

1678, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of searing was in 1678

Dictionary Entries Near searing

Cite this Entry

“Searing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/searing. Accessed 28 Jan. 2025.

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