sizzling

Meanings

1. 1adjectivebefore a noun

   Making a hissing, spitting sound as it cooks or heats up.

   Grammar: Usually before the noun: sizzling bacon.

   The waiter carried a sizzling plate of fajitas to the table.

   I could hear sizzling bacon from the kitchen.

   The sizzling sausages smelled wonderful.

2. 2adjectivecomparableinformal

   Extremely hot, especially in weather.

   Grammar: Can follow be or go before a noun: a sizzling afternoon.

   It was a sizzling July afternoon, and the beach was packed.

   Temperatures reached a sizzling 40 degrees.

   We escaped the sizzling heat inside a cool cafe.

3. 3adjectivecomparableinformalfigurative

   Exciting, intense or very attractive.

   Grammar: Describes performances, romances, deals or looks.

   The film has a sizzling love scene.

   Sales were sizzling over the holidays.

   The two actors have sizzling chemistry.

Common combinations

sizzling hot

The pan was sizzling hot when she added the oil.

sizzling summer

A sizzling summer left the fields dry.

sizzling performance

The band gave a sizzling performance.

sizzling steak

A sizzling steak arrived on an iron plate.

sizzling romance

The novel is a sizzling romance.

Synonyms and how they differ

scorching

Scorching describes heat that seems to burn, and does not refer to cooking sounds.

searing

Searing suggests intense, burning heat or pain, and is stronger than sizzling.

steamy

Steamy often means romantic or sexual, or humid, while sizzling can also mean exciting in any way.

sultry

Sultry suggests hot, humid weather or slow, seductive appeal, a gentler tone than sizzling.

Opposites

Word family

sizzle verb

to make a hissing sound while cooking

sizzle noun

the sound of frying, or excitement as in sizzle and sparkle

sizzler noun

something very hot, such as a day

Commonly confused: sizzling or simmering?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “sizzling”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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