Extremely hot or burning intensely, or emotionally painful and cutting in a harsh way.
From Old English 'searian' meaning 'to dry up.' The word originally meant to scorch or burn, and expanded metaphorically to mean emotionally wounding or painfully intense.
Chefs use the searing technique to lock in flavor by creating a crust on meat—the Maillard reaction at extreme heat creates completely new flavor compounds that wouldn't exist at lower temperatures.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.