white-hot

adjective

ˈ(h)wīt-ˈhät How to pronounce white-hot (audio)
Definition of white-hotnext
as in searing
having a notably high temperature the molten mass was still white-hot when the glassblower began to work his magic

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 white-hot But by the time ’28 rolls around, this is gonna be the white-hot top issue. — Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 5 June 2026 Last year saw the sudden closure of NeueHouse, a once white-hot club and co-working space whose membership spanned Hollywood, media, fashion and tech. — George Gurley, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2026 York has weaponized those 2 inches, in turn, into a kind of white-hot lava that his peers at Temple High and Texas A&M have never quite seen before. — Luca Evans, Denver Post, 8 May 2026 The stone, a little white-hot comet, flew in a tight, mean line across the expanse. — Chang-Rae Lee, New Yorker, 3 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for white-hot
Recent Examples of Synonyms for white-hot
  1. searing
  2. boiling
  3. hot
  4. burning
  5. molten
Adjective
  • Severe droughts and searing heat across vast swathes of southern Europe destroyed large parts of the olive oil harvest, culminating in a dizzying price rally that shocked industry veterans and consumers alike.
    — Sam Meredith, CNBC, 17 July 2026
  • Set in the immigrant neighborhoods of 1950s Brooklyn, Miller’s searing tragedy explores the tensions between devotion and desire, justice and loyalty, and the promise and pressures of the American Dream.
    — Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 14 July 2026
Definition of searing
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
Adjective
  • Arguably, no program was as hot in June at picking up portal commitments, with Miami currently standing at 12 commits.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 17 July 2026
  • Be vigilant about never leaving young children and pets in vehicles without supervision, especially during periods of intense heat, as car interiors can quickly become extremely hot.
    — CA Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 16 July 2026
Definition of hot
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
Adjective
  • Corrosion Highways When compared to conventional fission reactors, molten salt reactors run much hotter.
    — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 14 July 2026
  • Scientists have long theorized about how once-molten lava cooled and formed the massive columns that make up the geologic wonder.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 July 2026
Definition of molten

Browse Nearby Words

white heat
white-hot
white knight
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“White-hot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/white-hot. Accessed 21 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of dog days

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
child-detective
Spot the Misspelled Word July 2026 Those little red underlines can't help you now...
See All