Word of the Day

: May 12, 2024

torrid

adjective TOR-id

What It Means

Torrid can be used to describe something that is literally hot (such as a region near the Earth’s equator) or figuratively hot (such as a romance).

// The tabloids were relentless in covering every minor detail of the celebrity couple’s torrid affair.

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torrid in Context

“Chinese cities such as Chongqing, a southwestern metropolis known for its torrid summers, have for years used their air raid tunnels as public cooling centers.” — The Associated Press, 7 July 2023

Did You Know?

Hot, steamy, sultry: English is full of words that do double-duty in describing thirst traps both literal (as in the tropics) and figurative (as in, well, thirst traps). Torrid comes from the Latin verb torrēre, which means “to burn” or “to parch” and is an ancestor of our word toast. (Despite its dry implications, torrēre is also an ancestor of torrent, as in “a torrent of rain.”) Torrid first appeared in English in the 16th century and was originally used to describe something burned or scorched by exposure to the sun, but it has since taken on an extended meaning similar to the “sexy” sense of hot: “showing fiery passion,” as in “torrid love letters” or “a torrid affair.”