boiling
boiling Lexical Profile
boiling Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Heated to the temperature at which a liquid bubbles and turns to vapor.
"Pour the boiling water directly over the tea leaves and let them steep for five minutes."
Extremely hot; uncomfortably warm in temperature.
"We spent the boiling afternoon seeking shade under the canopy of the old oak trees."
Agitated with intense emotion, especially anger or fury; turbulent or surging violently.
"He struggled to contain his boiling resentment during the contentious board meeting."
• adverb
To an extremely high degree of heat; scaldingly (used before 'hot').
"Be careful with that ceramic mug because the coffee inside is still boiling hot."
• noun
The process or action of heating a liquid until it bubbles and turns into vapor, or of cooking food in such a liquid.
"Sterilization by boiling is a reliable method for purifying drinking water in emergency situations."
Word Nuance & Usage
As an adverb, 'boiling' is used almost exclusively as an intensifier before the adjective 'hot' (as in 'boiling hot') rather than modifying other adjectives or verbs.
• Rhymes for boiling
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed from the verb 'boil', which entered Middle English via Old French 'boillir', ultimately deriving from the Latin 'bullire' (to bubble or boil), from 'bulla' (bubble).