sear

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /sɪr/ UK /sɪə/ See IPA manual

Homophones

cere /sɪr/

Minimal pairs

Sounds like sill /l/ vs /r/ Sounds like shear /s/ vs /ʃ/

verb adj

Meanings

1

verb
to burn or scorch the surface with sudden intense heat

Sear the steak quickly to lock in its juices.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to burn or scorch the... scorch singe burn char cauterize brand

Opposites

freeze chill

Word family

Derived forms searing

Related forms sere

Etymology

From Old English 'sēarian' ('to dry up, wither'), from 'sēar' ('dry, withered'), from Proto-Germanic *sauzaz, from Proto-Indo-European *sews- ('dry').

sēarian Old English *sauzaz Proto-Germanic *saus- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

# sear

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb, adj
**IPA (US):** sɪr
**IPA (UK):** sɪə

## Meanings
1. to burn or scorch the surface with sudden intense heat

## Examples
- Sear the steak quickly to lock in its juices.

## Synonyms
- scorch
- singe
- burn
- char
- cauterize
- brand

## Antonyms
- freeze
- chill

## Derived Forms
- searing

## Related Forms
- sere

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: sēarian
- Root: *sauzaz
- Root: *saus-

## Etymology
From Old English 'sēarian' ('to dry up, wither'), from 'sēar' ('dry, withered'), from Proto-Germanic *sauzaz, from Proto-Indo-European *sews- ('dry').

## AI Etymology
Sear comes from Old English 'sēarian' ('to dry up, wither'), from 'sēar' ('dry, withered'), from Proto-Germanic *sauzaz, from Proto-Indo-European *sews- ('dry'). The historical chain includes Old English sēarian, Proto-Germanic *sauzaz, and Proto-Indo-European *saus-. Older glosses in the chain include "sēarian", "to dry up, wither", "sēar", and "dry, withered", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, sear is best read as borrowing, yielding an English verb and adjective shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a verb and adjective, with the sense "to burn or scorch the surface with sudden intense heat". English derivatives include searing; related forms include sere. The result is an English verb and adjective whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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