sear
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sear 1
(sîr)v. seared, sear·ing, sears
v.tr.
1. To char, scorch, or burn the surface of.
2. To brown (meat) quickly using very high heat. See Synonyms at burn1.
3. To cause to dry up and wither.
4.
a. To cause emotional pain or trauma to: "The image of the burdened, solitary president ... seared the American mind as never before" (James Carroll).
b. To cause to be felt or remembered because of emotional intensity: "Such increases in value have seared into people's minds the idea that investments will almost always pay off" (David Leonhardt).
v.intr.
1. To become dried up or withered.
2. To be felt or remembered because of emotional intensity: The incident seared into the nation's memory.
n.
A condition, such as a scar, produced by searing.
[Middle English seren, from Old English sēarian, to wither, from sēar, withered.]
sear 2
(sîr)n.
The catch in a gunlock that keeps the hammer halfcocked or fully cocked.
[Probably French serre, something that grasps, from Old French, lock, from serrer, to grasp, from Vulgar Latin *serrāre, from Late Latin serāre, to bolt, from Latin sera, bar, bolt; see ser- in Indo-European roots.]
sear 3
(sîr)adj.
Variant of sere1.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
sear
(sɪə)vb (tr)
1. to scorch or burn the surface of
2. to brand with a hot iron
3. to cause to wither or dry up
4. rare to make callous or unfeeling
n
a mark caused by searing
adj
poetic dried up
[Old English sēarian to become withered, from sēar withered; related to Old High German sōrēn, Greek hauos dry, Sanskrit sōsa drought]
sear
(sɪə)n
(Firearms, Gunnery, Ordnance & Artillery) the catch in the lock of a small firearm that holds the hammer or firing pin cocked
[C16: probably from Old French serre a clasp, from serrer to hold firmly, from Late Latin sērāre to bolt, from Latin sera a bar]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
sear1
(sɪər)v.t.
1. to burn or char the surface of.
2. to mark with a branding iron.
3. to burn or scorch.
4. to damage emotionally.
5. to dry up or wither; parch.
n. 6. a mark or scar made by searing.
adj. 7. sere 1.
[before 900; Middle English seren, Old English sēarian, derivative of sēar sere1]
sear2
(sɪər)n.
a pivoted piece that holds the hammer at full or half cock in the firing mechanism of small arms.
[1550–60; < Middle French serre a grip, derivative of serrer to lock up, close < Vulgar Latin *serrāre, for Late Latin serāre to bar (a door), derivative of Latin sera door-bar]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
sear
Past participle: seared
Gerund: searing
| Imperative |
|---|
| sear |
| sear |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
sear
To brown the surface of food by cooking over direct heat or in the oven at high temperature.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Verb | 1. | sear - make very hot and dry; "The heat scorched the countryside" sizzle - burn or sear with a sizzling sound; "The fat sizzled in the pan" |
| 2. | sear - become superficially burned; "my eyebrows singed when I bent over the flames" | |
| 3. |  sear - 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"cookery, cooking, preparation - the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat; "cooking can be a great art"; "people are needed who have experience in cookery"; "he left the preparation of meals to his wife" burn - burn with heat, fire, or radiation; "The iron burnt a hole in my dress" | |
| 4. | sear - cause to wither or parch from exposure to heat; "The sun parched the earth" | |
| Adj. | 1. | sear - (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" botany, flora, vegetation - all the plant life in a particular region or period; "Pleistocene vegetation"; "the flora of southern California"; "the botany of China" dry - free from liquid or moisture; lacking natural or normal moisture or depleted of water; or no longer wet; "dry land"; "dry clothes"; "a dry climate"; "dry splintery boards"; "a dry river bed"; "the paint is dry" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
sear
verb
1. wither, burn, blight, brand, scorch, sizzle, shrivel, cauterize, desiccate, dry up or out Grass fires have seared the land.
2. flash fry, brown, fry quickly Sear the red pepper strips until they start to blacken.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
sear
verbnoun
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
sear
[sɪəʳ] VT (= wither) → secar, marchitar (Med) → cauterizar; [pain etc] → punzar; (= scorch) → chamuscar, quemarit was seared into my memory → me quedó grabado en la memoria
sear through VI + PREP [+ walls, metal] → penetrar a través de
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
sear
vt
(= burn: hot metal, water etc) → verbrennen; (pain) → durchzucken; (Med: = cauterize) → ausbrennen; (Cook: = brown quickly) → rasch anbraten; (fig) → zutiefst treffen
(= scorch, wither: sun, wind) → ausdörren, austrocknen
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995