scorching

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (Southern England):

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Adjective

scorching (comparative more scorching, superlative most scorching)

1. Very hot.

   It was a scorching summer, and the ice-cream sellers plied a roaring trade.

2. Bitterly sarcastic; scathing; withering.
   • 1860, Lucius Robinson Paige, A Commentary on the New Testament, volume 3, page 130:

     Very probably he resolved never to repeat the request which had drawn forth such a scorching rebuke; but there is no evidence of his determination to forsake his iniquitous practices generally.

3. Sexy, sexual, attractive.
   • 2022 November 22, Katherine J Igoe, Rachel Varina, “20 Sexiest Movies of 2022 and Where You Can Stream ’Em All Yourself”, in Cosmopolitan‎^[1]:

     A ton of scorching content gets released all the time, and it turns out the newest sex movies of 2022 could basically double as (ethical!) porn; they’re that hot.

4. Of speed when driving, running, etc.: Very high.
   • 1996, Jon Byrell, Lairs, Urgers and Coat-Tuggers, Sydney: Ironbark, page 186:

     Dan Patch clocked a scorching 1:55.5 flat.

Derived terms

• scorching hot

Verb

scorching

1. present participle and gerund of scorch

Noun

scorching (plural scorchings)

1. The act or result of something being scorched.
   • 1839, The Lancet, volume 2, page 682:

     There were several slight scratches and scorchings about the face, sides of the neck and shoulders […]

   • 1997, Larry Dean Olsen, Outdoor Survival Skills, page 76:

     Green wood hardens after about four or five scorchings in the fire, but several scorchings are required to drive out the sap.