Scorchingly

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a way that denotes extreme heat, often resulting in distress or damage
2. In a manner that produces an intense or searing heat, often causing burning or harm
3. Expressing or showing extreme warmth or heat to a degree that can cause discomfort or destruction

Etymology: "Scorchingly" is a plain formation: the adjective "scorching" with the suffix "-ly" added to turn it into an adverb. The adjective "scorching" comes from "scorch," a verb meaning to burn the surface of something, and the "-ing" ending gives it the sense of something that is doing that burning. Adding "-ly" to an adjective to form an adverb is one of the most productive patterns in English, so "scorchingly" describes doing something in the manner of a scorching heat. The suffix itself has a long history. It descends from an ancient root meaning "body" or "form," which passed through Proto-Germanic as a word meaning something like "shape" or "appearance," and then became a suffix meaning "having the form of" or "like." Old English used "-lic" in this way, and it gradually softened into the "-ly" we use today. So when you say something is scorchingly hot, you are in effect saying it is hot in the manner of a shape or body that burns, a sense that the suffix's ancestors carried long before the word "scorch" appeared in English.

Synonyms: burningly, fiery, blisteringly

Antonyms: coolly, gently