scorched

scorch  (skôrch)

v. scorched, scorch·ing, scorch·es

v.tr.

1. To burn superficially so as to discolor or damage the texture of. See Synonyms at burn¹.

2. To wither or parch with intense heat.

3. To destroy (land and buildings) by or as if by fire so as to leave nothing salvageable to an enemy army.

4. To subject to severe censure; excoriate.

v.intr.

1. To become scorched or singed.

2. To go or move at a very fast, often excessively fast rate.

n.

1. A slight or surface burn.

2. A discoloration caused by heat.

3. Brown spotting on plant leaves caused by fungi, heat, or lack of water.

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[Middle English scorchen, possibly of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse skorpna, to shrink, be shriveled.]

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scorching·ly adv.

Thesaurus

Adj.	1.	scorched - dried out by heat or excessive exposure to sunlight; "a vast desert all adust"; "land lying baked in the heat"; "parched soil"; "the earth was scorched and bare"; "sunbaked salt flats" adust, baked, parched, sunbaked dry - free from liquid or moisture; lacking natural or normal moisture or depleted of water; or no longer wet; "dry land"; "dry clothes"; "a dry climate"; "dry splintery boards"; "a dry river bed"; "the paint is dry"
	2.	scorched - having everything destroyed so nothing is left salvageable by an enemy; "Sherman's scorched earth policy" destroyed - spoiled or ruined or demolished; "war left many cities destroyed"; "Alzheimer's is responsible for her destroyed mind"