[seer] 
| 1. | to burn or char the surface of: She seared the steak to seal in the juices. |
| 2. | to mark with a branding iron. |
| 3. | to burn or scorch injuriously or painfully: He seared his hand on a hot steam pipe. |
| 4. | to make callous or unfeeling; harden: The hardship of her youth has seared her emotionally. |
| 5. | to dry up or wither; parch. |
| 6. | to become dry or withered, as vegetation. |
| 7. | a mark or scar made by searing. |
| 8. | sere 1 . |
[seer] | a pivoted piece that holds the hammer at full cock or half cock in the firing mechanism of small arms. |
| sear 1 (sîr) v. seared, sear·ing, sears v. tr.
To become withered or dried up. n. A condition, such as a scar, produced by searing. [Middle English seren, from Old English sēarian, to wither, from sēar, withered.] |
| sear 2 (sîr) n. The catch in a gunlock that keeps the hammer halfcocked or fully cocked. [Probably French serre, something that grasps, from Old French, lock, from serrer, to grasp, from Vulgar Latin *serrāre, from Late Latin serāre, to bolt, from Latin sera, bar, bolt; see ser-2 in Indo-European roots.] |
| sear 3 (sîr) adj. Variant of sere1. |
| sere 1 also sear (sîr) adj. Withered; dry: sere vegetation at the edge of the desert. [Middle English, from Old English sēar.] |
| sere (sîr) Pronunciation Key
The entire sequence of ecological communities successively occupying an area from the initial stage to the climax community. See more at succession. |