seared


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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.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adj.1.seared - having the surface burned quickly with intense heat; "the seared meat is then covered with hot liquid for braising"
cooked - having been prepared for eating by the application of heat
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
References in classic literature ?
When my friends had finished, the road was seared, and blown, and pitted with unequal pressure layers, spirals, vortices, and readjustments for at least an hour.
My adventures there are seared in sharpest detail on my brain.
While my seared soul was steeped in the healing balm of those gracious sounds, it seemed to me that I could almost resuffer the torments which had gone before, in order to be so healed again.