scalding 1 of 2

Definition of scaldingnext
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scalding

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verb

present participle of scald

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of scalding
Adjective
Experts generally agree on the same basic steps to reduce risks in your house: Set your water heater no higher than 120 degrees to prevent scalding. Paul L. Underwood, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2020 But the Nets bench called timeout with 1.4 seconds left, giving them a chance to get the ball to the scalding-hot LeVert. Adam Himmelsbach, BostonGlobe.com, 4 Mar. 2020 But Reimann achieves an exemplary balance by alternating his scalding eruptions of vocal power (which in general are sparsely accompanied, sometimes by percussion alone) with full-throttle tutti blasts from the orchestra. Matthew Aucoin, The New York Review of Books, 7 Dec. 2019 Two weeks ago, family and friends laid to rest Malachi Lawson, the 4-year-old who was burned in a scalding bath, his body then tossed in a dumpster. Tim Prudente, baltimoresun.com, 26 Aug. 2019 See All Example Sentences for scalding
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scalding
Adjective
  • More humane methods of killing lobsters pre-boiling include a sharp knife through the head, electrical stunning, or freezing.
    semafor.com, semafor.com, 29 Dec. 2025
  • Agrawal and her team studied ionic liquids — salts that are liquid at sub-boiling temperatures (below 212 degrees Fahrenheit, or 100 degrees Celsius) — as a potential hospitable environment for life.
    Stefanie Waldek, Space.com, 13 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Turner stars in Rosebush Pruning, a satirical tragicomedy thriller, alongside Pamela Anderson, Elle Fanning, Jamie Bell, and Lukas Gage.
    Meg Walters, InStyle, 15 Feb. 2026
  • After the success of Rob Reiner’s 1984 satirical classic This Is Spinal Tap, which counts Guest as a star and co-writer, the latter returned to the mockumentary genre with Guffman, focusing on the quirky residents of a small town producing a stage musical to celebrate their history.
    Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 11 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • The songs are at times over-the-top, at others lacerating in their introspection about everything from the anxiety of aging to the anguished choice to terminate a pregnancy.
    Adam Bradley Luis Alberto Rodriguez Carlos Nazario, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Plath, the deserted wife of fellow poet Ted Hughes, mother of two young children, died by suicide at age 30, leaving behind a collection of poems that anatomized her mental descent in scorching language that secured a permanent place in American letters.
    Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 14 Feb. 2026
  • The hard X-ray peak came first, intense and quickly, followed by a longer, scorching soft X-ray and optical glow.
    Paul Sutter, Space.com, 6 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • Revenue reform could ease long-simmering tensions.
    Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 Feb. 2026
  • Armenia and Azerbaijan turned to Trump to resolve a simmering dispute over a transportation corridor.
    Alan Cullison, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • Saturated in the heatwave colors of Australia’s scorching Red Center, with its searing blue skies and bright orange sands, Wolfram makes the grim, lawless backwater of Wake in Fright seem positively cosmopolitan by comparison.
    Damon Wise, Deadline, 17 Feb. 2026
  • Caramelizing lemon — by grilling, searing or sauteéing — is done in many Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines.
    Carolynn Carreño, Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • But pull her away from the TV cameras, photographers and the prying eyes of the world, and her sarcastic-bordering-on-vulgar sense of humor bubbles to the surface.
    Dave Skretta, Chicago Tribune, 17 Feb. 2026
  • Liu asked with a sarcastic scoff and giggle.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • When asked about his showing in the mayoral election, Brunson didn’t miss a beat, roasting his buddy who had recently been robbed of $185,000 worth of jewelry.
    Tom Kludt, Vanity Fair, 17 Feb. 2026
  • At China Live, Chen is like a circus ringmaster overseeing a dumpling-making station, a stone oven roasting Peking ducks, a noodle station and a dessert station churning sesame soft serve.
    Terry Tang, Fortune, 16 Feb. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Scalding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scalding. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.

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