[Vocabulary] Can we say 'I am sweltering'?

[LiuJing]

Me and my roommate were watching English television tonight. It was a talk show in English, but all participants were Chinese people. One guy said 'I am sweatering' apparently to mean he was very nervous to be on the show. I told my roommate he should rather have said 'I am sweating', and he did not say it right by mistaking sweater for sweat. My roommate did not agree with me by pointing out the possibility that he might be saying 'I am sweltering' .

I have looked up 'sweltering' in my dictionary, which says:
adj. 1. Oppressively hot and humid; sultry.
2. Suffering from oppressive heat.

Could it be right to say 'I am sweltering' on any possible occasion? Thank you.

 

[emsr2d2]

Me and my roommate were watching English television tonight. It was a talk show in English, but all participants were Chinese people. One guy said 'I am sweatering' apparently to mean he was very nervous to be on the show. I told my roommate he should rather have said 'I am sweating', and he did not say it right by mistaking sweater for sweat. My roommate did not agree with me by pointing out the possibility that he might be saying 'I am sweltering' .

I have looked up 'sweltering' in my dictionary, which says:
adj. 1. Oppressively hot and humid; sultry.
2. Suffering from oppressive heat.

Could it be right to say 'I am sweltering' on any possible occasion? Thank you.

In BrE, it's certainly used.

I'm sweltering.
I'm roasting.
I'm baking.
I'm cooking.
I'm boiling.

I don't think I ever really noticed, until I just listed them, how many of them are cookery terms! Very appropriate really!

 

[LiuJing]

In BrE, it's certainly used.

I'm sweltering.
I'm roasting.
I'm baking.
I'm cooking.
I'm boiling.

I don't think I ever really noticed, until I just listed them, how many of them are cookery terms! Very appropriate really!

Thank you. Do you mean 'I am sweltering' is used in connection with cooking only? Can it mean ' I feel so hot, or nervous'?

 

[emsr2d2]

Thank you. Do you mean 'I am sweltering' is used in connection with cooking only? Can it mean ' I feel so hot, or nervous'?

No, sorry, I should have been clearer. "Sweltering" is the only word on that list that isn't connected with cookery!!! All of the others (roasting/boiling/cooking/baking are all methods of cookery).

All of the sentences I gave can mean "I'm very hot!"

None of them mean "I'm nervous".