Synonyms of hot

hot 1 of 2

adjective

ˈhät 

1

as in boiling

having a notably high temperature

the casserole, just out of the oven, was too hot to eat

Synonyms & Similar Words

• boiling
• searing
• molten
• burning
• heated
• red
• warm
• white-hot
• warmed
• scorching
• sweltering
• sultry
• torrid
• broiling
• superheated
• red-hot
• roasting
• scalding
• fervent
• fervid
• fiery
• piping hot
• ardent
• blazing
• sizzling
• glowing
• ultrahot
• igneous
• seething
• overheated
• steamy
• tropical
• warmish
• toasty
• muggy
• reheated
• flushed
• feverish
• inflamed
• summery
• snug
• summerlike
• canicular

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• cold
• icy
• freezing
• frigid
• frozen
• cool
• iced
• bitter
• glacial
• arctic
• ice-cold
• chilly
• chill
• snowy
• frosty
• nippy
• snappy
• cooled
• wintry
• algid
• coolish
• subzero
• chilled
• bone-chilling
• coldish
• unheated
• refrigerated
• shivering
• subfreezing
• numb
• benumbed
• blizzardly

2

as in modern

being or involving the latest methods, concepts, information, or styles

this spring it's the cool shades of lipstick that are hot

Synonyms & Similar Words

• modern
• new
• contemporary
• stylish
• fashionable
• designer
• current
• latest
• modernistic
• red-hot
• new age
• newfangled
• modernized
• ultramodern
• futuristic
• up-to-date
• present-day
• state-of-the-art
• mod
• up-to-the-minute
• new-fashioned
• recent
• space-age
• updated
• now
• last
• nouvelle
• happening
• modish
• in
• high-tech
• latter-day

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• old
• old-fashioned
• archaic
• antiquated
• out-of-date
• old-time
• ancient
• dated
• musty
• past
• anachronistic
• fusty
• late
• historical
• former
• aged
• historic
• hoary
• venerable
• olden
• antediluvian
• antique
• retro
• bygone
• age-old
• passé
• retrograde
• obsolete
• outmoded
• oldfangled
• remote
• discarded
• outworn
• old-world
• disused
• forgotten
• timeless
• unmodernized
• ageless
• kaput
• dateless
• moth-eaten

3

as in fashionable

enjoying widespread favor or approval

was surprised to learn that American jazz has long been hot in Russia

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fashionable
• favorite
• popular
• popularized
• large
• pop
• red-hot
• happening
• desirable
• big
• vogue
• famous
• faddish
• in
• preferred
• faddy
• crowd-pleasing
• modish
• voguish
• fabulous
• prominent
• celebrated
• legendary
• selected
• notorious
• liked
• du jour
• famed
• renowned
• important
• outstanding
• wanted
• fabled
• noted
• semipopular
• notable
• remarkable
• leading
• well-known
• significant

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unpopular
• out
• unfashionable
• rejected
• disliked
• unimportant
• insignificant
• hated
• despised
• detested
• unknown
• washed-up
• obscure
• anonymous
• unexceptional
• inconspicuous
• nameless
• indistinguished

4

as in violent

marked by bursts of destructive force or intense activity

your hot temper is going to get you in trouble

a hot battle for first place in the American League

Synonyms & Similar Words

• violent
• fierce
• ferocious
• turbulent
• furious
• rough
• volcanic
• explosive
• rabid
• vicious
• brutal
• stormy
• tumultuous
• tempestuous
• volatile
• cyclonic
• aggressive
• convulsive
• paroxysmal
• bang-bang
• hammer-and-tongs
• savage
• knock-down, drag-out
• hostile
• contentious
• blood-and-guts
• mad
• destructive
• antagonistic
• barbarous
• frantic
• combustible
• belligerent
• combative
• pugnacious
• assertive
• agitated
• bellicose
• truculent
• frenzied
• quarrelsome
• gladiatorial
• ruinous
• cataclysmal

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• peaceful
• peaceable
• calm
• nonviolent
• serene
• pacific
• tranquil
• halcyon
• unaggressive
• nonbelligerent

5

as in excited

showing urgent desire or interest

we were hot to get the baseball game started and wished it would stop raining

Synonyms & Similar Words

• excited
• enthusiastic
• avid
• eager
• hungry
• anxious
• pumped
• ardent
• thirsty
• keen
• impatient
• nuts
• desirous
• greedy
• voracious
• solicitous
• happy
• ready
• crazy
• gung ho
• interested
• great
• antsy
• juiced
• stoked
• wild
• enthused
• geeked
• chomping at the bit
• champing at the bit
• hopped-up
• athirst
• bonkers
• agog
• hepped up
• gaga
• raring
• willing
• engaged
• obsessed
• longing
• restless
• pining
• ambitious
• glad
• covetous
• craving
• restive
• breathless
• game
• appetent
• hankering
• amenable
• disposed
• hung up
• unreluctant
• inclined

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• indifferent
• casual
• apathetic
• unenthusiastic
• uninterested
• disinterested
• nonchalant
• aloof
• unconcerned
• detached
• lukewarm
• incurious
• insouciant
• impassive
• reluctant
• stolid
• languid
• unwilling
• uneager
• languorous
• lackadaisical
• hesitant
• averse
• spiritless
• halfhearted
• loath
• disinclined

6

as in sexy

sexually attractive

my sisters only watched the game because they think the outfielder is hot

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sexy
• desirable
• toothsome
• luscious
• seductive
• dishy
• foxy
• nubile
• bodacious
• hunky
• alluring
• sultry
• studly
• vampish
• vampy

7

as in angry

feeling or showing anger

you don't have to get all hot about it

Synonyms & Similar Words

• angry
• ballistic
• mad
• indignant
• enraged
• outraged
• furious
• infuriated
• angered
• infuriate
• sore
• steaming
• passionate
• hot under the collar
• irritable
• rabid
• bent out of shape
• in a huff
• irate
• inflamed
• hopping mad
• annoyed
• wrathful
• blue in the face
• foaming
• livid
• fuming
• fit to be tied
• in a pet
• in a fume
• choleric
• incensed
• apoplectic
• ireful
• cheesed off
• hopping
• horn-mad
• sizzling
• going crook
• wroth
• riled
• shirty
• boiling
• aggravated
• ticked
• steamed up
• roiled
• riley
• cold
• smoldering
• rankled
• unpleasant
• exasperated
• teed off
• cross
• frigid
• icy
• seething
• burning
• stormy
• virulent
• antagonistic
• vindictive
• acrid
• disagreeable
• acrimonious
• bristling
• spiteful
• vengeful
• embittered
• cool
• sulky
• worked up
• malevolent
• distant
• bristly
• ranting
• antisocial
• vitriolic
• huffy
• inflammable
• resentful
• unfriendly
• rancorous
• wrought (up)
• raving
• inimical
• testy
• petulant
• antipathetic
• peevish
• touchy
• cantankerous
• grumpy
• perturbed
• irascible
• bilious
• bitter
• fretful
• grouchy
• belligerent
• snappish
• crabby
• disapproving
• pugnacious
• cranky
• churlish
• dyspeptic
• ornery
• contentious
• bearish
• fussy
• querulous
• ill-tempered
• contrary
• quarrelsome
• piqued
• sorehead
• argumentative
• ill-humored
• put out
• quick-tempered
• disputatious

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• accepting
• pleased
• delighted
• agreeable
• friendly
• amenable
• happy
• accommodating
• content
• cordial
• complaisant
• satisfied
• sympathetic
• angerless
• amicable
• sweet
• obliging
• pleasant
• tolerant
• calm
• kind
• empathetic
• pacific
• serene
• tranquil
• understanding
• placid
• amiable
• peaceable
• genial
• easygoing
• affable
• good-natured
• unembittered
• good-tempered

8

as in rapid

moving, proceeding, or acting with great speed

bought a hot new car that should tear up the roadways

Synonyms & Similar Words

• rapid
• brisk
• quick
• fast
• galloping
• swift
• lightning
• rattling
• blistering
• whirlwind
• speedy
• breathless
• hasty
• flying
• nippy
• dizzy
• splitting
• zippy
• rapid-fire
• hurried
• fleet
• snappy
• accelerated
• at speed
• breakneck
• ready
• rushed
• fleet-footed
• strong
• vigorous
• expeditious
• breathtaking
• energetic
• strenuous
• high-speed
• prompt
• rush
• quickened
• hastened
• ultrafast
• ultrarapid

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• slow
• sluggish
• languid
• crawling
• dragging
• lingering
• poky
• unhurried
• laggard
• leisurely
• deliberate
• plodding
• late
• dallying
• measured
• slowish
• tardy
• poking
• dilatory
• dillydallying
• dawdling
• ultraslow

9

as in excellent

of the very best kind

since you're guilty as hell, you'd better get a hot lawyer

Synonyms & Similar Words

• excellent
• wonderful
• lovely
• great
• awesome
• beautiful
• terrific
• fabulous
• superb
• fantastic
• prime
• stellar
• cool
• fine
• marvelous
• famous
• classic
• heavenly
• neat
• quality
• slick
• sensational
• brave
• top
• good
• divine
• splendid
• cracking
• groovy
• peachy
• topping
• high-class
• superior
• dandy
• first-class
• swell
• too much
• nifty
• fab
• first-rate
• top-notch
• choice
• exceptional
• superlative
• par excellence
• dynamite
• immense
• dope
• keen
• sterling
• top-shelf
• capital
• frontline
• banner
• out of this world
• noble
• mean
• grand
• gone
• blue-ribbon
• radical
• prize
• blue-chip
• crackerjack
• number one
• decent
• boss
• righteous
• first-string
• unsurpassed
• topflight
• primo
• supernal
• out-of-sight
• down
• bumper
• bully
• special
• fantabulous
• better
• gangbusters
• peachy keen
• phat
• wizard
• A1
• adequate
• bonny
• tip-top
• hype
• top-of-the-line
• bang-up
• jim-dandy
• acceptable
• corking
• satisfactory
• A-OK
• brag
• boffo
• prizewinning
• five-star
• four-star
• tolerable
• numero uno
• traditional
• OK
• classical
• all right
• fancy
• gilt-edged
• premium
• passable
• high-grade
• select
• high-test
• standard
• superfine

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• poor
• terrible
• awful
• rotten
• lousy
• pathetic
• wretched
• vile
• bad
• atrocious
• unsatisfactory
• inferior
• substandard
• low-grade
• execrable
• mediocre
• second-class
• middling
• second-rate

10

as in passionate

having a strong sexual desire

he admitted that the nude photos made him hot

Synonyms & Similar Words

• passionate
• horny
• aroused
• lustful
• excited
• randy
• salacious
• lascivious
• libidinous
• itchy
• licentious
• corrupt
• lewd
• lecherous
• immoral
• lubricious
• oversexed
• concupiscent
• hypersexual
• goatish
• satyric
• easy
• degraded
• wanton
• promiscuous
• fast
• loose
• dissolute
• indecent
• degenerate
• depraved
• dissipated
• libertine
• debauched
• decadent
• debased
• demoralized

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• frigid
• pure
• moral
• virtuous
• decent
• modest
• chaste
• immaculate
• celibate
• monastic
• undersexed
• monkish
• virginal
• innocent
• maidenly
• Victorian
• puritanical
• prudish
• prim
• priggish
• lily-white
• straitlaced

hot

2 of 2

adverb

as in fast

with great speed

workers were working hot and heavy to repair the breach in the levee

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fast
• quickly
• rapidly
• quick
• swiftly
• soon
• immediately
• promptly
• swift
• in short order
• by leaps and bounds
• in a hurry
• like a shot
• at full tilt
• hastily
• like wildfire
• briskly
• at full throttle
• speedily
• double-quick
• like gangbusters
• presto
• apace
• hell-for-leather
• a mile a minute
• fleetly
• lickety-split
• full tilt
• chop-chop
• pronto
• abruptly
• vigorously
• readily
• posthaste
• snappily
• recklessly
• suddenly
• impulsively
• impetuously
• energetically
• rashly

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• slowly
• slow
• sluggishly
• deliberately
• lingeringly
• leisurely
• ploddingly
• belatedly
• laggardly
• tardily
• delinquently

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of hot

Adjective

During exertion tests in hot environments, co-founder Roland Washington says people wearing the device have been able to maintain core temperatures of up to 2°F lower than those without, which can make all the difference. — Hannah Singleton, Time, 15 Oct. 2026

Dduk Dabang The restaurant specializes in toppoki, which are hot dishes filled with chewy rice cakes bathed in a sauce. — Emma Hall, Sacbee.com, 15 Oct. 2026

Adverb

After Tuesday’s game at Miami, the Braves have two more divisional games with the Marlins yet to play, followed by a home series against a hot-hitting Washington Nationals team (also within the division) this weekend. — Ken Sugiura, AJC.com, 20 May 2026

This canvas bucket hat affords you the choice of two sizes and four colors — hot pink, red, olive green, and beige. — Claire West, PEOPLE, 8 May 2026

Phrases Containing hot

• hot (up)
• hot air
• hot dog
• hot stuff
• hot ticket
• hot under the collar
• hot war
• piping hot
• red hot

Video

Hot Mess

You're probably familiar with the term hot mess. But do you know how old hot mess really is?

TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to ask the editor. I'm Emily Brewster, an associate editor at Merriam-Webster.

Most of you are likely familiar with the informal term hot mess as in the project was going terribly.
It was such a hot mess.

Or it was such a stressful situation.
I was such a hot mess.

What you might not realize is just how old that use of the term is. Before a person or a situation could be a hot mess, a hot mess was simply a mess that was hot with mess here being related to the kind of mess served in a mess hall.

But when you're defining a figurative term like hot mess, you also have to define any older literal meanings that were formerly considered self-explanatory.

Our research turned up two now archaic literal meanings of hot mess. A hot dish especially of soft or pulpy food and a hot mixture of ingredients cooked or eaten together. The quest for early evidence of the literal meaning of hot mess in use led to a surprising discovery, though.

A Mr. P.J. Conlon in an 1899 journal bemoaned the naivete of the people in his community. They believe everything they see in the newspapers. If the newspaper says "the sky is painted with green chalk" that is what goes. Verily, I say unto you, the public is a hot mess.

The term hot mess in current use isn't far off from Conlon's usage. We define it as something or someone that is emphatically a mess such as A, something in a state of extreme disorder or disarray or B, a disorganized, disheveled, or self-destructive person.

Conlon likely would not have predicted a very new development in the word's meaning. It now also means a disorganized, disheveled, or self-destructive person who is at the same time attractive or sexy.

Verily, I say unto you, hot mess has come a long way.

For more Ask the Editor episodes, visit merriam-webster.com.