What is the meaning of sear?

verb

• Make very hot and dry.
  • usage: "The heat scorched the countryside"
  • synonyms: scorch
• Become superficially burned.
  • usage: "my eyebrows singed when I bent over the flames"
  • synonyms: scorch, singe
• Burn slightly and superficially so as to affect color.
  • usage: "The cook blackened the chicken breast"; "The fire charred the ceiling above the mantelpiece"; "the flames scorched the ceiling"
  • synonyms: char, blacken, scorch
• Cause to wither or parch from exposure to heat.
  • usage: "The sun parched the earth"
  • synonyms: parch

adjective

• Used especially of vegetation. ( having lost all moisture)
  • usage: "dried-up grass"; "the desert was edged with sere vegetation"; "shriveled leaves on the unwatered seedlings"; "withered vines"
  • synonyms: dried-up, sere, shriveled, shrivelled, withered