Adjacent Words

Sear definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SEAR, v. t. [Gr. to dry; to parch; dry. L. torreo, in a diffrent dialect.]
1. To burn to dryness and hardness the surface of any thing; to cauterize; to expose to a degree of heat that changes the color of the surface, ar makes it hard; as, to sear the skin or flesh.
I'm sear'd with burning steel. Rowe.
Sear is allied to scorch in signification; cut it is applied primarily to animal flesh, and has special reference to the effect of heat in making the surface hard. Scorch is applied to flesh, sloth or any other substance, and has mo reference to the effect of hardness.
2. To wither; to dry.
3. To make callous or insensible.
Having their conscience seared with a hot iron. 1 Timothy 4.
To sear up, to close by searing or cauterizing; to stop.
Cherish veins of good humor, and sear up those of ill. Temple.
SEAR, a. Dry; withered

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: (used especially of vegetation) having lost all moisture; "dried-up grass"; "the desert was edged with sere vegetation"; "shriveled leaves on the unwatered seedlings"; "withered vines" [syn: dried-up, sere, sear, shriveled, shrivelled, withered] v
1: make very hot and dry; "The heat scorched the countryside" [syn: sear, scorch]
2: become superficially burned; "my eyebrows singed when I bent over the flames" [syn: scorch, sear, singe]
3: burn slightly and superficially so as to affect color; "The cook blackened the chicken breast"; "The fire charred the ceiling above the mantelpiece"; "the flames scorched the ceiling" [syn: char, blacken, sear, scorch]
4: cause to wither or parch from exposure to heat; "The sun parched the earth" [syn: parch, sear]

Merriam Webster's

I. variant of sere II. verb Etymology: Middle English seren, from Old English s?arian to become dry, from s?ar sere Date: before 12th century intransitive verb to cause withering or drying transitive verb 1. to make withered and dry ; parch 2. a. to burn, scorch, mark, or injure with or as if with sudden application of intense heat b. to cook the surface of quickly with intense heat <sear a steak> III. noun Date: 1874 a mark or scar left by searing IV. noun Etymology: probably from Middle French serre grasp, from serrer to press, grasp, from Old French, from Late Latin serare to bolt, latch, from Latin sera bar for fastening a door Date: 1596 the catch that holds the hammer of a gun's lock at cock or half cock

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & adj. --v.tr. 1 a scorch, esp. with a hot iron; cauterize, brand. b (as searing adj.) scorching, burning (searing pain). 2 cause pain or great anguish to. 3 brown (meat) quickly at a high temperature so that it will retain its juices in cooking. 4 make (one's conscience, feelings, etc.) callous. 5 archaic blast, wither. --adj. (also sere) literary (esp. of a plant etc.) withered, dried up. Etymology: OE sear (adj.), searian (v.), f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sear Sear, Sere Sere (s[=e]r), a. [OE. seer, AS. se['a]r (assumed) fr. se['a]rian to wither; akin to D. zoor dry, LG. soor, OHG. sor[=e]n to to wither, Gr. a"y`ein to parch, to dry, Skr. [,c]ush (for sush) to dry, to wither, Zend hush to dry. [root]152. Cf. Austere, Sorrel, a.] Dry; withered; no longer green; -- applied to leaves. --Milton. I have lived long enough; my way of life Is fall'n into the sear, the yellow leaf. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sear Sear, n. [F. serre a grasp, pressing, fr. L. sera. See Serry.] The catch in a gunlock by which the hammer is held cocked or half cocked. Sear spring, the spring which causes the sear to catch in the notches by which the hammer is held.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sear Sear, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Seared; p. pr. & vb. n. Searing.] [OE. seeren, AS. se['a]rian. See Sear, a.] 1. To wither; to dry up. --Shak. 2. To burn (the surface of) to dryness and hardness; to cauterize; to expose to a degree of heat such as changes the color or the hardness and texture of the surface; to scorch; to make callous; as, to sear the skin or flesh. Also used figuratively. I'm seared with burning steel. --Rowe. It was in vain that the amiable divine tried to give salutary pain to that seared conscience. --Macaulay. The discipline of war, being a discipline in destruction of life, is a discipline in callousness. Whatever sympathies exist are seared. --H. Spencer. Note: Sear is allied to scorch in signification; but it is applied primarily to animal flesh, and has special reference to the effect of heat in marking the surface hard. Scorch is applied to flesh, cloth, or any other substance, and has no reference to the effect of hardness. To sear, to close by searing. ``Cherish veins of good humor, and sear up those of ill.'' --Sir W. Temple.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(sears, searing, seared) 1. To sear something means to burn its surface with a sudden intense heat. Grass fires have seared the land near the farming village of Basekhai. VERB: V n 2. If something sears a part of your body, it causes a painful burning feeling there. (LITERARY) I distinctly felt the heat start to sear my throat. VERB: V n 3. see also searing

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ser: In 1Ti 4:2 for (kausteriazo), "burn with a hot iron" (compare "cauterize"), the King James Version "having their conscience seared with a hot iron," and the Revised Version margin. "Seared" in this connection means "made insensible," like the surface of a deep burn after healing. The verb, however, probably means "brand" (so the Revised Version (British and American)). "Criminals are branded on their forehead, so that all men may know their infamy. The consciences of certain men are branded just as truly, so that there is an inward consciousness of hypocrisy." See the commentaries

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Dry, wither. 2. Cauterize, burn with a hot iron, burn with cautery, scorch. 3. Make callous, make insensible. 4. Brand. II. a. Dry, withered, sere.

Moby Thesaurus

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