焼き尽くす

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 焼き尽くす, read やきつくす, is a transitive verb combining 焼く with 尽くす, which expresses doing something completely.
• Basic usage: It expresses severe destruction in which something such as a forest or household belongings is burned completely.
  • 物語の竜は炎で森を焼き尽くした。

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Stronger completion than 焼く
  • 焼く can include burning only part of something, while 焼き尽くす adds the sense of burning the whole object. Its past form is 焼き尽くした.