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.

   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.

   1860, Lucius Robinson Paige, A Commentary on the New Testament, volume 3, page 130

3. Sexy, sexual, attractive.

   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.

   2022 November 22, Katherine J Igoe, Rachel Varina, “20 Sexiest Movies of 2022 and Where You Can Stream ’Em All Yourself”, in Cosmopolitan

4. Of speed when driving, running, etc.: Very high.

   Dan Patch clocked a scorching 1:55.5 flat.

   1996, Jon Byrell, Lairs, Urgers and Coat-Tuggers, Sydney: Ironbark, page 186

1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of scorch

plural scorchings

1. The act or result of something being scorched.

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

   1839, The Lancet, volume 2, page 682

   1 more example

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

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