SWELTERING Synonyms: 114 Similar and Opposite Words

sweltering 1 of 2

adjective

ˈswel-t(ə-)riŋ

Definition of sweltering

as in boiling

having a notably high temperature the air conditioning was broken, and it was sweltering in the office

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

sweltering

2 of 2

verb

present participle of swelter

as in scorching

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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 sweltering

Adjective

High humidity and sweltering heat accelerated decomposition, compounding the challenges as health experts warned that leaving the remains exposed could increase the risk of disease. — ABC News, 30 Aug. 2026 Daisy Chain Fields arrived on a sweltering summer Saturday, plopped in the middle of Irvine’s suede hills, inside Orange County lines. — Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2026 By the time Olivia Rodrigo hit the stage to headline the inaugural Daisy Chain Fields festival, the sun had set on a sweltering day, and anyone who was fading was sure to feel reenergized both from a welcome breeze and from Rodrigo’s set. — Elisabeth Garber-Paul, Rolling Stone, 30 Aug. 2026 And then, another unexpected trial was the sweltering hot summer day dipping into the mid-50s after the sun sank into the horizon, as well as evening dew emerging across the grassy terrain. — Vanessa Carlson Bender, Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 30 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for sweltering

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sweltering

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

Definition of boiling

Verb

Only one other spacecraft, NASA’s Messenger, has explored the puzzling, scorching planet that is just a little bigger than our moon.

— Marcia Dunn, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026
Prolonged periods of drought are scorching French pastures, leeching them of their usual lush green vitality and leaving behind parched, lifeless yellow fields.

— Vivian Song, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of scorching

Verb

Rancher Jay Fetcher said that with climate change, the snow is melting much earlier in the spring on his high-elevation pastures.

— Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026
Opposition is melting in Asia and Europe amid improved reactor designs and desperation for more power.

— Editorial Board, Washington Post, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of melting

Adjective

Its hot iron core -- oversized for such a small world -- cools and contracts along with the mantle and crust, tightening the surface like a girdle to fit its new slimmer self.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 11 Sep. 2026
Planar coils simplify stellarator engineering Stellarators use magnetic fields to confine the extremely hot plasma required for fusion.

— Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of hot

Verb

And it’s been broiling along the coast, which typically offers a cooler respite from the heat.

— Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026
Dozens of young people, including a twenty-one-year-old professional footballer, drowned while seeking relief in open water; three French children died in broiling cars.

— Eric Klinenberg, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of broiling

Adjective

Prosecutors said some of the money was used for recruiting new members and purchasing Ku Klux Klan robes and materials for cross-burning ceremonies.

— ABC News, ABC News, 7 July 2026
In the case of the cross-burning incident, there is no comparison to the Jussie Smollett case.

— Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 19 June 2026

Definition of burning

Verb

Until recently, Dunbar still enjoyed cooking and made breakfast for herself every morning.

— Teresa Mull, FOXNews.com, 6 Sep. 2026
Atlanta chef David Rose’s sriracha-honey barbecue ribs combine smoked baby back ribs with a sticky, sweet-and-spicy glaze and his 2-2-1 method for cooking tender ribs at home.

— Monti Carlo, AJC.com, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of cooking

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“Sweltering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sweltering. Accessed 14 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of sweltering

adjective

verb

Example Sentences

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