U

sear

verb (used with object)

to burn or char the surface of: She seared the steak to seal in the juices.
to mark with a branding iron.
to burn or scorch injuriously or painfully: He seared his hand on a hot steam pipe.
to make callous or unfeeling; harden: The hardship of her youth has seared her emotionally.
to dry up or wither; parch.

verb (used without object)

to become dry or withered, as vegetation.

noun

a mark or scar made by searing.

adjective

sere1.

noun

a pivoted piece that holds the hammer at full cock or half cock in the firing mechanism of small arms.

adjective

dry; withered.

verb (tr)

to scorch or burn the surface of
to brand with a hot iron
to cause to wither or dry up
rare to make callous or unfeeling

noun

a mark caused by searing

adjective

poetic dried up

noun

the catch in the lock of a small firearm that holds the hammer or firing pin cocked

adjective

archaic dried up or withered

verb, noun

a rare spelling of sear 1 (def. 1)

noun

the series of changes occurring in the ecological succession of a particular community

v.Old English searian (intransitive) “dry up, to wither,” from Proto-Germanic *saurajan (cf. Middle Dutch soor “dry,” Old High German soren “become dry”), from root of sear “dried up, withered” (see sere). Meaning “cause to wither” is from early 15c. Meaning “to brand, to burn by hot iron” is recorded from c.1400, originally especially of cauterizing wounds; figurative use is from 1580s. Related: Seared; searing. adj.Old English sear “dried up, withered, barren,” from Proto-Germanic *sauzas (cf. Middle Low German sor, Dutch zoor), from PIE root *saus- “dry” (cf. Sanskrit susyati “dries, withers;” Old Persian uška- “dry” (adj.), “land” (n.); Avestan huška- “dry;” Latin sudus “dry”). A good word now relegated to bad poetry. Related to sear. Sere month was an old name for “August.”

The entire sequence of ecological communities successively occupying an area from the initial stage to the climax community. See more at succession.