"sears" in the verb sense
1. sear, scorch
make very hot and dry
"The heat scorched the countryside"
2. scorch, sear, singe
become superficially burned
"my eyebrows singed when I bent over the flames"
3. char, blacken, sear, scorch
burn slightly and superficially so as to affect color
"The cook blackened the chicken breast"
"The fire charred the ceiling above the mantelpiece"
"the flames scorched the ceiling"
4. parch, sear
cause to wither or parch from exposure to heat
"The sun parched the earth"
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
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