scorched 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of scorchednext
as in burned

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scorched

2 of 2

verb

past tense of scorch
1
as in charred
to burn on the surface the picnickers kept scorching their marshmallows, deliberately sticking their skewers into the licking flames of the campfire

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in dried
to make dry weeks of drought had badly scorched the soil

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 scorched
Adjective
If possible, wait until the extreme temperatures cool to apply pesticides that can cause scorched leaves. — Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 20 June 2026 Later the day of the arson, a young man with scorched hands faced an FBI agent and others investigating the crime. — Jennifer Berry Hawes, ProPublica, 4 Feb. 2026
Verb
Sudan’s civil war turned its national museum into a battlefield and crime scene, with ancient statues shattered, skeletal remains scorched and vaults of gold looted. — Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026 During the 2016 Chimney Fire, which scorched more than 46,000 acres in the Santa Lucia Range, one of the family’s favorite manzanita trees burned black. — Kathryn O’Shea-Evans, Robb Report, 30 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for scorched
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scorched
  1. burned
  2. charred
  3. dried
  4. seared
  5. incinerated
  6. scorching
Adjective
  • Designed to function like an ice resurfacer, BurnBot lays down pre-burned paths that define the boundaries of burn areas.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 15 Nov. 2025
  • Yeager said none of the non-burned areas of the facility have been turned on again.
    — Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2025
Definition of burned
Verb
  • At NoriFish, it gets grilled or torched until the skin turns crisp and charred while the interior stays buttery.
    — Angela Hansberger, AJC.com, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Bangkok Kunsthalle, in Chinatown, opened in 2024 in a former academic publishing house that was ravaged by a fire 25 years ago; the mazelike interior, some of it still charred, is a surprisingly compelling stage for art.
    — Tony Perrottet, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of charred
Verb
  • That gives the gin a pale yellow color, and adds barrel notes of oak and dried fruit to a palate shaped by botanicals including juniper, queen of the night (a nocturnal cactus flower), coriander seed, Damask rose, and Nigerian ginger.
    — Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 15 Oct. 2026
  • About a month after the ink dried on that contract, Kim, who had slipped on ice and fallen while in his native Korea, had surgery to repair a tendon on his right middle finger.
    — Chad Bishop, AJC.com, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of dried
Adjective
  • On seared proteins, the fat reinforces the meat’s own character rather than competing with it.
    — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Charlotte Observer, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Those moments remain seared into the collective consciousness of women nationwide.
    — Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of seared
Adjective
  • Grace, her white lace dress blackened with blood, is smoking a cigarette outside of an incinerated mansion that belongs to her in-laws, the Le Domas, who are all dead.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2026
  • Know More Initially founded in 2012 with a $5 million dollar grant from the John Templeton Foundation, Nautilus incinerated cash, sparing no expense in its pursuit of bringing resplendent literary science to the reading public.
    — Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 16 Feb. 2026
Definition of incinerated
Adjective
  • Tortoises routinely seek shade under dense bushes, vanish into mangroves, or shelter from the scorching equatorial sun.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 10 Oct. 2026
  • There’s the brutal heat; the skin destroying UV-rays of that miserable, scorching, eye-blinding sun; the constant allergy/sinusitis issues that NEVER let up; the smothering humidity.
    — R. Eric Thomas, Washington Post, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of scorching

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scorched
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Cite this Entry

“Scorched.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scorched. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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