This adjective describes something scorching or burning hot. Proverbs 16:27 uses it metaphorically, comparing a worthless person's speech to 'scorching fire'—his words burn and destroy. The simile connects verbal destructiveness to the pain of burning. Just as scorching fire chars and damages whatever it touches, so malicious speech wounds and harms. The feminine form fits with 'fire,' emphasizing the burning, searing quality of both literal flames and figurative speech that burns like fire.