Sear

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Sear \Sear\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Seared}; p. pr. & vb. n.
     {Searing}.] [OE. seeren, AS. se['a]rian. See {Sear}, a.]
     1. To wither; to dry up. --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To burn (the surface of) to dryness and hardness; to


        cauterize; to expose to a degree of heat such as changes
        the color or the hardness and texture of the surface; to
        scorch; to make callous; as, to sear the skin or flesh.
        Also used figuratively.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              I'm seared with burning steel.        --Rowe.
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              It was in vain that the amiable divine tried to give
              salutary pain to that seared conscience. --Macaulay.
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              The discipline of war, being a discipline in
              destruction of life, is a discipline in callousness.
              Whatever sympathies exist are seared. --H. Spencer.
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     Note: Sear is allied to scorch in signification; but it is
           applied primarily to animal flesh, and has special
           reference to the effect of heat in marking the surface
           hard. Scorch is applied to flesh, cloth, or any other
           substance, and has no reference to the effect of
           hardness.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     {To sear up}, to close by searing. "Cherish veins of good
        humor, and sear up those of ill." --Sir W. Temple.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Sear \Sear\, Sere \Sere\ (s[=e]r), a. [OE. seer, AS. se['a]r
     (assumed) fr. se['a]rian to wither; akin to D. zoor dry, LG.
     soor, OHG. sor[=e]n to wither, Gr. a"y`ein to parch, to dry,
     Skr. [,c]ush (for sush) to dry, to wither, Zend hush to dry.
     [root]152. Cf. {Austere}, {Sorrel}, a.]
     Dry; withered; no longer green; -- applied to leaves.
     --Milton.
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           I have lived long enough; my way of life
           Is fall'n into the sear, the yellow leaf. --Shak.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Sear \Sear\, n. [F. serre a grasp, pressing, fr. L. sera. See
     {Serry}.]
     The catch in a gunlock by which the hammer is held cocked or
     half cocked.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     {Sear spring}, the spring which causes the sear to catch in
        the notches by which the hammer is held.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  sear
       adj : (used especially of vegetation) having lost all moisture;
             "dried-up grass"; "the desert was edged with sere
             vegetation"; "shriveled leaves on the unwatered
             seedlings"; "withered vines" [syn: {dried-up}, {sere},
             {shriveled}, {shrivelled}, {withered}]
       v 1: make very hot and dry; "The heat scorched the countryside"
            [syn: {scorch}]
       2: become superficially burned; "my eyebrows singed when I bent
          over the flames" [syn: {scorch}, {singe}]
       3: cause to wither or parch from exposure to heat; "The sun
          parched the earth" [syn: {parch}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  178 Moby Thesaurus words for "sear":
     Sanforize, Sanforized, adust, air-dry, anhydrate, attaint,
     attenuate, attenuated, bake, baked, barbecue, baste, bedaub,
     besmear, besmirch, besmoke, bestain, blacken, blanch, blaze,
     blister, blot, blur, boil, braise, brand, brew, broil, brown,
     brush, burn, burn in, burn off, burn up, burnt, cast, cauterize,
     char, coal, coddle, consume, consumed, cook, corky, crack, cupel,
     cure, curry, darken, daub, dehumidify, dehydrate, dehydrated,
     desiccate, desiccated, devil, diminish, dirty, discolor, do,
     do to perfection, drain, dried, dried-up, droop, dry, dry up,
     emacerate, emacerated, emaciate, emaciated, evaporate, evaporated,
     exsiccate, exsiccated, fade, fade away, fire, flag, flame, found,
     fricassee, frizz, frizzle, fry, griddle, grill, heat, insolate,
     kiln, languish, macerate, mark, mat burn, mummified, mummify,
     oven-bake, oxidate, oxidize, pan, pan-broil, parboil, parch,
     parched, pine, poach, prepare, prepare food, preshrink, preshrunk,
     pyrolyze, roast, rub, saute, scald, scallop, scorch, scorched,
     seared, second-degree burn, sere, shirr, shrink, shrivel,
     shriveled, shriveled up, shrunk, shrunken, simmer, singe, sizzle,
     slubber, slur, smear, smirch, smoke, soak up, soil, solder, sponge,
     stain, steam, stew, stigmatize, stir-fry, sun, sun-dried, sun-dry,
     sunbaked, sunburn, sunscald, swab, swinge, taint, tarnish, thin,
     third-degree burn, toast, torrefy, towel, vesicate, vulcanize,
     waste, waste away, wasted, wasted away, weazen, weazened, weld,
     wilt, wind-dried, windburn, wipe, wither, withered, wizen,
     wizen-faced, wizened