| 100% | SEAR | 4 | Seal in the juices of, as a grilled steak |
| 84% | SEAR | 4 | Seal in the juices of, as steak on the grill |
| 66% | SEAR | 4 | Seal the juices in, as a steak |
| 57% | SEAR | 4 | Seal in the juices of |
| 57% | CHARS | 5 | Seals in the juices of |
| 55% | SEAR | 4 | Quickly scorch to seal in juices, as a steak |
| 49% | SEAR | 4 | Seal in a steak's juices, via heat |
| 49% | TRASHIEST | 9 | In the poorest of taste, as a novel |
| 48% | RARE | 4 | Red in the middle, as a steak |
| 47% | OPERATIC | 8 | In the style of a work by Bizet, such as Carmen |
| 47% | BAKE | 4 | Cook in the oven, as a pan of brownies |
| 47% | SEARS | 5 | Chars the surface of, as a tuna steak |
| 47% | SEAR | 4 | Cook the exterior of, as a tuna steak |
| 47% | SEAR | 4 | Brown the surface of, as a steak |
| 47% | SEAR | 4 | Brown the outside of, as a steak |
| 47% | SWAY | 4 | Move in the breeze, as a tree (anagram of "ways") |
| 46% | NAY | 3 | The opposite of "Yea," as in a vote |
| 46% | SEAR | 4 | Brown the surface of, as scallops or a steak |
| 45% | MASTHEAD | 8 | The title of a newspaper as it appears in print |
| 45% | DEFINE | 6 | Provide the meaning of, as in a dictionary |
| 45% | SEAR | 4 | Char the surface of, as steak on the grill |
| 45% | RACEME | 6 | Simple inflorescence, as in a lily of the valley |
| 45% | GYRATING | 8 | Circular movement of the hips as in a dance |
| 44% | PLZEN | 5 | City in the Czech Republic also known as Pilsen; a 2015 European Capital of Culture |
| 44% | SYNOD | 5 | Council of a church such as the — of Whitby in 664 |
| 44% | TEAMS | 5 | Groups of players in a tourney, such as the LA Lakers |
| 44% | BURNT | 5 | Cooked to the point of charring, as a steak |
| 43% | DYERSROCKET | 11 | Eurasian plant in the genus Reseda once cultivated as the source of a bright yellow dye |
| 43% | ANDRE | 5 | John —, British Army officer hanged as a spy in 1780 during the American War of Independence |
| 43% | MOOCOW | 6 | Kidspeak animal mentioned in the first line of "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" |