parched

[ pahrcht ]

adjective

1. extremely or completely dried, as by heat, sun, or wind:

   Dry shrubs cover parts of this parched valley in the South Hebron Hills.

2. very thirsty:

   After each shift in the ship’s engine room, I was dead tired and totally parched, needing large amounts of water.

3. (of peas, beans, grains, etc.) slightly toasted or roasted:

   The village folk customarily have one meal a day of parched grains, so there is always a crowd around the old widow’s oven.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of parch ( def ).

Other Words From

• parch·ed·ly [pahr, -chid-lee, pahrcht, -], adverb
• parch·ed·ness noun
• un·parched adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of parched¹

parch ( def ) + -ed ²( def )

Example Sentences

With hotter temperatures, more water evaporates, further dehydrating the already parched ground.

From Slate

Filling a plastic bag with tap water, she and a performer drove 50-plus miles from the suburban school in parched Santa Clarita to the Pacific Ocean, stopping four times along the way to deposit teaspoons of water on the side of the road, then replacing each with a spoonful of dirt.

From Los Angeles Times

A sudden shutoff of water supplies has dried up the Kern River in Bakersfield, leaving thousands of dead fish on the parched riverbed.

From Los Angeles Times

The rivers, in parts, are now completely dry and resemble a parched desert.

From BBC

Kristofferson never sounded more like Leonard Cohen than he did here, rhapsodizing in a parched croon about a woman’s redeeming devotion as producer Fred Foster ladles on just the right amount of easy-listening schmaltz.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• arid
• scorched
• thirsty
• withered