WHITE-HOT Synonyms: 77 Similar and Opposite Words

white-hot

adjective

ˈ(h)wīt-ˈhät

Definition of white-hot

as in searing

having a notably high temperature the molten mass was still white-hot when the glassblower began to work his magic

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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 Incidents like Tony burning his hand on a white-hot skillet — earning his co-workers’ mockery and contempt by asking for burn cream — and witnessing a bride leave her wedding dinner in order to shtup a cook are recreated for maximum effect. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 5 Aug. 2026 Sitting at his desk at Covenant Day School about five years ago, Matthew Blong felt a familiar white-hot shame bubble up from his gut. — Devna Bose, Charlotte Observer, 3 Aug. 2026 Certainly not most people, including this critic and presumably Duff herself, who comes across as more than just a bit in awe of the resurgence in her career after many years out of the white-hot celebrity spotlight. — Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 12 July 2026 When the quartet collides in the film’s climactic fight, each has his own motivation and a reason to feel white-hot, incandescent rage. — Andy Crump, IndieWire, 15 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for white-hot

Recent Examples of Synonyms for white-hot

Adjective

The searing season only exacerbated the Colorado River water crisis.

— Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2026
The result is a book that, despite the searing and brutal honesty of its details, never becomes fully untethered from basic human tenderness.

— Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 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

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

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

The process, which recycles optical glass waste product, is a visceral and sensory practice, and speed and movement are key—malleable molten glass waits for no one.

— Clare Coulson, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Sep. 2026
The molten iron could then be fed into the facility’s basic oxygen furnaces to create steel, according to the report.

— Maya Wilkins, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of molten

Browse Nearby Words

white heat

white-hot

white knight

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“White-hot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/white-hot. Accessed 15 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of white-hot

adjective

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