Heated

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈhiːtɪd/

Definitions

1. Having been made hot or raised in temperature ; characterized by strong emotion, anger, or intensity
2. Describes something that has gained heat or warmth ; showing signs of passion or angry feeling
3. Refers to an object or environment that is warmed up ; marked by emotional excitement or fierce argument

Etymology: "Heated" is the past participle of the verb "heat," so its history is the history of "heat" itself. "Heat" comes from Old English "hǣtu," a noun for warmth, built on the same Germanic root that gave English "hot." The related Old English verb "hǣtan" meant to make warm, and the participle followed naturally from it. The figurative senses grew from the same image: a room, a pan, or a temper could each be heated as the temperature rises. The emotional sense, as in a heated debate, extends that picture of rising heat to people's feelings. The word has no borrowing or coinage to trace, just an ordinary inherited verb and its participle.

Synonyms: warm, hot, fervent, intense, passionate

Antonyms: cold, cool, calm, composed, dispassionate