sweltering

adjective

swel·​ter·​ing ˈswel-t(ə-)riŋ 

: oppressively hot

swelteringly adverb

Synonyms

• ardent
• boiling
• broiling
• burning
• fervent
• fervid
• fiery
• hot
• piping hot
• red
• red-hot
• roasting
• scalding
• scorching
• searing
• sultry
• superheated
• torrid
• ultrahot
• white-hot

Examples of sweltering in a Sentence

the air conditioning was broken, and it was sweltering in the office

Recent Examples on the Web

On a plane, the morning after the night before, on a sweltering hot summer’s day, or shortly after consuming a salty feast… all scenarios commonly associated with the dreaded puffy face. —Hannah Coates, Vogue, 7 Jan. 2025

Bill and his 22-year-old son, Scott, were 30 minutes into a five-hour drive from rural Connecticut to South Jersey and already parked on I-84 West in a traffic jam on a sweltering August 1978 weekend. —Bill Keenan, airmail.news, 17 Feb. 2024

Listen to this article On a sweltering July day this past summer, straphangers trying to get home on the J train were left to sweat it out on the platform. —Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 3 Nov. 2024

On a sweltering summer day in 1935, Briony becomes entangled in a confusing series of events. —Lauren Warnecke, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1566, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

sweltering

adjective

swel·​ter·​ing

: very hot

swelteringly adverb