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On very cold days, someone can say that it's freezing outside. On very hot days of summer, can someone use cooking or any antonym of freezing, if one exists?

Matt Gutting
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Archa
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    Have you looked up antonyms of freezing? Have a look here (Merriam-Webster.com, always a good start in research) and let us know whether something sounds right, or what sounds "off" about the choices they give. After that, we'll be able to help. Without that, it's possible your question might be closed for "General Reference". – Matt Gutting Jul 03 '14 at 20:37
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    Ultrahot seems good to me, so you can close this topic. – Archa Jul 03 '14 at 20:40
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    And there you go! I know we have a list of what counts as "General Reference" for the site; I can never remember where it is kept. I'm sure someone can come along and post it, but you can also look around yourself. Checking the General Reference for information is always good; it helps us give you a better answer (and makes things a bit more fun and interesting for us :-) ). – Matt Gutting Jul 03 '14 at 20:43
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    And @Archa, by the way, before we close the question you should post "ultrahot" as your own answer. Maybe even tell us a bit about why you like the term. – Matt Gutting Jul 03 '14 at 21:01
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    Baking, broiling, burning, scorching, cooking, anything that connotes being cooked, heated, or burned. – ErikE Jul 04 '14 at 04:34
  • If it's only freezing outside that's a fairly warm day. – Hot Licks Feb 05 '16 at 13:39

13 Answers13

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It's both a British and US colloquialism to use 'boiling'.

Also referenced here: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/boiling

Thomas
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I've also heard scorching used; it seems to describe the condition of the pavement quite well.

Wolfgang
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While 'boiling' is a commonly used option, my suggestion would be 'sweltering', as it removes any possible ambiguity.

Sweltering

Dave Magner
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I'm from Arizona where the weather is scorching and the people are roasting.

It's freezing outside. It's scorching outside.

I'm freezing. I'm roasting.

Nathaniel
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I'm surprised nobody mentioned blistering yet, which refers to intense heat.

ashes999
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As no-one else has addressed this specific point: Cooking is used in this sense in Australia at least.

Cooking seems to capture the feel of being in an oven in such conditions. I personally would probably only use it in temperatures well above blood heat.

With regards to the other words suggested:

Boiling and scorching are common in the UK. I vaguely recall a tabloid headline 'What a scorcher'.

It seems to me that boiling is hyperbole, as others have noted.

Scorching is however literally true, just like freezing can be.

Freezing is also used in the UK and especially Australia in a non-literal sense.

Torrid is of course also correct provided it is a dry heat. I don't hear spoken much (anyone differ?), but it is definitely written use.

Sweltering is valid if there is humidity, and in common use in verbal and written forms.

Keith
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  • RE: The tabloid headline for some reason it has become some sort of ironic tradition for newspapers to use the headline "phew! What a scorcher" on a regular basis. – Martin Smith Jul 05 '14 at 20:06
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Doubleplus uncold

On topic: I've heard of "it's burning hot outside" before

Andrew Hu
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"Baking" would be the closest term usable as per it's definition.

user8230
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Don't disregard "hot" just because of its simplicity.

The other answers here are good; particularly "boiling", "blistering", and "scorching", but I feel that most of the words here are used more in descriptive writing than in casual conversation (based on personal experience; not concrete evidence).

If I were to start up small talk with, for example, a person waiting at a bus stop, or if I were to walk outside and comment on the weather to my neighbor, I would generally say:

  • Cold: It is freezing out here!

  • Hot: It is hot out here! (I know this is boring and perhaps obvious, but emphasis on "hot" will convey the intensity as much as "freezing" does.)

  • Hot: It is hot as Hell out here!

  • Hot: Damn, it's hot!

You can use analogies, such as:

  • It's like an oven out here today!

You can add intensity with incredulity, e.g.

  • I can't believe how hot it is!

You can also qualify "hot" with an adverb to increase intensity:

  • It is incredibly hot out today!

  • It is insanely hot out today! (colloquialism)

  • It is ridiculously hot out today!

Or if it's already understood that it is hot (e.g. the person you are speaking to is outside with you, perhaps sweating), things as simple as:

  • Can you believe this?

  • Where did this come from?

  • Wow!

  • It's crazy out there! (esp. if you say this upon walking indoors, sweating)

If indoors or in a cooler space you can also use the contrast with the cooler environment to convey the heat, for example:

  • Thank God for air conditioning!

  • Wow, it feels good to get out of that heat.

  • I'm not leaving this room until winter! (when in a cool room on a hot day)

However, when writing, where more poignant words are more commonplace than in spoken conversation; words like burning, scorching, boiling, etc. are very good.

In general, nearly any word or phrase that brings one of the following to mind will be understood as conveying intense heat:

  • Fire

  • Hell

  • Cooking

  • Melting / Boiling / anything else that is a consequence of high heat (e.g. "blistering", "scorching", etc.)

The word "hot" itself does go a long way on its own, though, and shouldn't be overlooked.

Jason C
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How about “torrid”?

Brian Donovan
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    That depends on the climate. Our summers are humid, so torrid is not correct (definition of Merriam-Webster: very hot and usually dry). – Archa Jul 03 '14 at 23:47
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I've heard "I'm melting" used before. It has the advantage of being a literal opposite to freezing in addition to being a figurative opposite.

boileau
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    You might say "I'm melting", you would never say "It's melting outside". – Dave Magner Jul 04 '14 at 14:06
  • The literal opposite to freezing would be thawing. But that's not what the OP meant. Edit: Oh, I see this is already being covered in other comments. – Mr Lister Jul 05 '14 at 06:15
  • @MrLister would you please explain what the difference between thawing and melting is? – boileau Jul 05 '14 at 19:46
  • @boileau Freezing and thawing imply a certain temperature - the melting point of water (zero °C). Other materials can be melting and solidifying at other temperatures (e.g. iron melts at 1538 °C), and you don't say of those materials that they're freezing or thawing at those temperatures. – Mr Lister Jul 05 '14 at 20:30
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    @boileau "Freeze" is used to mean either "a liquid turning to a solid" (like when you make ice cubes) or "the water in something turning to ice" (like when you put chicken in the freezer). "Melting" is the opposite of the first sense; "thawing" of the second. – David Richerby Jul 06 '14 at 08:04
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    @MrLister No, not at all. Freezing for any particular substance implies a particular temperature: water does it at 0C, alcohol (ethanol) at -114C and so on. We don't normally talk about iron "freezing" simply because it's already a solid at temperatures that are normal to us. But the saying that iron melts at 1538C is exactly the same as saying that (molten) iron freezes at 1538C. And see my comment to boileau for the distinction between melting and thawing. – David Richerby Jul 06 '14 at 08:08
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Sweltering is a good antonym and is more related to weather than boiling is.

tchrist
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Aaron Butacov
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With the help of two members, I answer my own question.

boiling and ultrahot seem to be correct.

Archa
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    Sweltering is better. – Dave Magner Jul 03 '14 at 21:23
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    For me, sweltering implies humidity as well. – Jim Jul 03 '14 at 22:52
  • @Jim Not for me, though; I'm from the temperate part of Australia, and I can say from personal experience that the weather can be sweltering even when dry. I'm guessing the exact meaning differs slightly by region and dialect. – user867 Jul 04 '14 at 04:43
  • I'm from Arizona - it was 112 F the other day, (44.4 C) "It's a dry heat" is the mantra down here. I just never consider it to be sweltering, unlike when I visit Houston where, because of the humidity, the heat, while not nearly as hot, is truly oppressive. – Jim Jul 04 '14 at 04:54
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    I have never heard the weather described as "ultrahot". – Gustav Bertram Jul 04 '14 at 07:39
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    "Ultrahot" is a new one to me. "Roasting", "Sweltering", "Scorching", and "Boiling" are all more common to me. – FrustratedWithFormsDesigner Jul 04 '14 at 15:31
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    Ultrahot is about the worst attempt in this whole thread, you might as well say it's flippin' mega-hot - Certainly fine if you're Sue Townsend. – ocodo Jul 07 '14 at 07:36
  • I hadn't even come across 'ultrahot' as a word before this thread. – Thomas Jul 07 '14 at 15:23