The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Sear \Sear\, Sere \Sere\ (s[=e]r), a. [OE. seer, AS. se['a]r
   (assumed) fr. se['a]rian to wither; akin to D. zoor dry, LG.
   soor, OHG. sor[=e]n to wither, Gr. a"y`ein to parch, to dry,
   Skr. [,c]ush (for sush) to dry, to wither, Zend hush to dry.
   [root]152. Cf. Austere, Sorrel, a.]
   Dry; withered; no longer green; -- applied to leaves.
   --Milton.
   [1913 Webster]

         I have lived long enough; my way of life
         Is fall'n into the sear, the yellow leaf. --Shak.
   [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Sear \Sear\, n. [F. serre a grasp, pressing, fr. L. sera. See
   Serry.]
   The catch in a gunlock by which the hammer is held cocked or
   half cocked.
   [1913 Webster]

   Sear spring, the spring which causes the sear to catch in
      the notches by which the hammer is held.
      [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Sear \Sear\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Seared; p. pr. & vb. n.
   Searing.] [OE. seeren, AS. se['a]rian. See Sear, a.]
   1. To wither; to dry up. --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To burn (the surface of) to dryness and hardness; to
      cauterize; to expose to a degree of heat such as changes
      the color or the hardness and texture of the surface; to
      scorch; to make callous; as, to sear the skin or flesh.
      Also used figuratively.
      [1913 Webster]

            I'm seared with burning steel.        --Rowe.
      [1913 Webster]

            It was in vain that the amiable divine tried to give
            salutary pain to that seared conscience. --Macaulay.
      [1913 Webster]

            The discipline of war, being a discipline in
            destruction of life, is a discipline in callousness.
            Whatever sympathies exist are seared. --H. Spencer.
      [1913 Webster]

   Note: Sear is allied to scorch in signification; but it is
         applied primarily to animal flesh, and has special
         reference to the effect of heat in marking the surface
         hard. Scorch is applied to flesh, cloth, or any other
         substance, and has no reference to the effect of
         hardness.
         [1913 Webster]

   To sear up, to close by searing. "Cherish veins of good
      humor, and sear up those of ill." --Sir W. Temple.
      [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

sear
    adj 1: (used especially of vegetation) having lost all moisture;
           "dried-up grass"; "the desert was edged with sere
           vegetation"; "shriveled leaves on the unwatered
           seedlings"; "withered vines" [syn: dried-up, sere,
           sear, shriveled, shrivelled, withered]
    v 1: make very hot and dry; "The heat scorched the countryside"
         [syn: sear, scorch]
    2: become superficially burned; "my eyebrows singed when I bent
       over the flames" [syn: scorch, sear, singe]
    3: burn slightly and superficially so as to affect color; "The
       cook blackened the chicken breast"; "The fire charred the
       ceiling above the mantelpiece"; "the flames scorched the
       ceiling" [syn: char, blacken, sear, scorch]
    4: cause to wither or parch from exposure to heat; "The sun
       parched the earth" [syn: parch, sear]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

178 Moby Thesaurus words for "sear":
   Sanforize, Sanforized, adust, air-dry, anhydrate, attaint,
   attenuate, attenuated, bake, baked, barbecue, baste, bedaub,
   besmear, besmirch, besmoke, bestain, blacken, blanch, blaze,
   blister, blot, blur, boil, braise, brand, brew, broil, brown,
   brush, burn, burn in, burn off, burn up, burnt, cast, cauterize,
   char, coal, coddle, consume, consumed, cook, corky, crack, cupel,
   cure, curry, darken, daub, dehumidify, dehydrate, dehydrated,
   desiccate, desiccated, devil, diminish, dirty, discolor, do,
   do to perfection, drain, dried, dried-up, droop, dry, dry up,
   emacerate, emacerated, emaciate, emaciated, evaporate, evaporated,
   exsiccate, exsiccated, fade, fade away, fire, flag, flame, found,
   fricassee, frizz, frizzle, fry, griddle, grill, heat, insolate,
   kiln, languish, macerate, mark, mat burn, mummified, mummify,
   oven-bake, oxidate, oxidize, pan, pan-broil, parboil, parch,
   parched, pine, poach, prepare, prepare food, preshrink, preshrunk,
   pyrolyze, roast, rub, saute, scald, scallop, scorch, scorched,
   seared, second-degree burn, sere, shirr, shrink, shrivel,
   shriveled, shriveled up, shrunk, shrunken, simmer, singe, sizzle,
   slubber, slur, smear, smirch, smoke, soak up, soil, solder, sponge,
   stain, steam, stew, stigmatize, stir-fry, sun, sun-dried, sun-dry,
   sunbaked, sunburn, sunscald, swab, swinge, taint, tarnish, thin,
   third-degree burn, toast, torrefy, towel, vesicate, vulcanize,
   waste, waste away, wasted, wasted away, weazen, weazened, weld,
   wilt, wind-dried, windburn, wipe, wither, withered, wizen,
   wizen-faced, wizened