different between drought vs scorching

English

Alternative forms

• drouth (Scotland, Northern England, poetry). The pronunciation with /?/ properly belongs with this now archaic doublet.

Etymology

From Middle English droghte, drou?te, druhhþe, dru?þe, drou?th, from Old English dr?gaþ, equivalent to dry +? -th. Cognate with Dutch droogte, Low German Dröögde.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /d?a?t/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): [d???t]
• Rhymes: -a?t

Noun

drought (countable and uncountable, plural droughts)

1. A period of unusually low rainfall, longer and more severe than a dry spell.
2. (by extension, informal) A longer than expected term without success, particularly in sport.

Derived terms

Synonyms

• losing streak

Antonyms

• winning streak

Translations

English

Pronunciation

Adjective

scorching (comparative more scorching, superlative most scorching)

1. Very hot.

2. Bitterly sarcastic; scathing; withering.
   • 1860, Lucius Robinson Paige, A Commentary on the New Testament (volume 3, page 130)

     Very probably he resolved never to repeat the request which had drawn forth such a scorching rebuke; but there is no evidence of his determination to forsake his iniquitous practices generally.

3. (Of speed when driving, running, etc.) very high.

Verb

scorching

1. present participle of scorch

Noun

scorching (plural scorchings)

1. The act or result of something being scorched.
   • 1839, The Lancet (volume 2, page 682)

     There were several slight scratches and scorchings about the face, sides of the neck and shoulders […]

   • 1997, Larry Dean Olsen, Outdoor Survival Skills (page 76)

     Green wood hardens after about four or five scorchings in the fire, but several scorchings are required to drive out the sap.