flare

American  

[flair] / flɛər /

verb (used without object)

• flares,
  present (3rd person singular)
• flared,
  past participle,  past
• flaring
  present participle

1. to burn with an unsteady, swaying flame, as a torch or candle in the wind.

   Synonyms:

   flame

2. to blaze with a sudden burst of flame (often followed byup ).

   The fire flared up as the paper caught.

3. to start up or burst out in sudden, fierce intensity or activity (often followed byup ).

   His stomach problems have flared up.

4. to become suddenly enraged; express sudden, fierce anger or passion (usually followed by up orout ).

   I’m not a person who flares easily. She sometimes flares out at the kids.

   Synonyms:

   flame, blaze, flash, explode, erupt

5. to shine or glow.

6. to spread gradually outward, as the end of a trumpet, the bottom of a wide skirt, or the sides of a ship.

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verb (used with object)

• flares,
  present (3rd person singular)
• flared,
  past participle,  past
• flaring
  present participle

1. to cause (a candle, torch, etc.) to burn with a swaying flame.

2. to display conspicuously or ostentatiously.

3. to signal by flares of fire or light.

4. to cause (something) to spread gradually outward in form.

5. Metallurgy. to heat (a high-zinc brass) to such a high temperature that the zinc vapors begin to burn.

6. to discharge and burn (excess gas) at a well or refinery.

noun

• flares
  plural

1. a flaring or swaying flame or light, as of torches in the wind.

2. a sudden blaze or burst of flame.

   Synonyms:

   flash

3. a bright blaze of fire or light used as a signal, a means of illumination or guidance, etc.

4. a device or substance used to produce such a blaze of fire or light.

5. a sudden burst, as of zeal or of anger.

6. a gradual spread outward in form; outward curvature.

   the flare of a skirt.

7. something that spreads out.

8. Optics. light, often unwanted or extraneous, reaching the image plane of an optical instrument, as a camera, resulting from reflections, scattering by lenses, and the like.

9. Photography. a fogged appearance given to an image by reflection within a camera lens or within the camera itself.

10. Also called solar flare.  Astronomy. a sudden and brief brightening of the solar atmosphere in the vicinity of a sunspot that results from an explosive release of particles and radiation.

11. Football. a short pass thrown to a back who is running toward a sideline and is not beyond the line of scrimmage.

12. Television. a dark area on a CRT picture tube caused by variations in light intensity.

flare British  

/ flɛə /

verb

1. to burn or cause to burn with an unsteady or sudden bright flame

2. to spread or cause to spread outwards from a narrow to a wider shape

3. (tr) to make a conspicuous display of

4. to increase the temperature of (a molten metal or alloy) until a gaseous constituent of the melt burns with a characteristic flame or (of a molten metal or alloy) to show such a flame

5. (in the oil industry) to burn off (unwanted gas) at an oil well

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noun

1. an unsteady flame

2. a sudden burst of flame

3. 1. a blaze of light or fire used to illuminate, identify, alert, signal distress, etc

   2. the device producing such a blaze

4. a spreading shape or anything with a spreading shape

   a skirt with a flare

5. a sudden outburst, as of emotion

6. optics

   1. the unwanted light reaching the image region of an optical device by reflections inside the instrument, etc

   2. the fogged area formed on a negative by such reflections See also solar flare

7. astronomy short for solar flare

8. aeronautics the final transition phase of an aircraft landing, from the steady descent path to touchdown

9. an open flame used to burn off unwanted gas at an oil well

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• outflare
  verb (used with object)
• flared
  adjective
• unflared
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• flares
  plural

Participles

• flaring
  present
• flared
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• flare
  simple
• flares
  simple
• have flared
  perfect
• has flared
  perfect
• am flaring
  progressive
• are flaring
  progressive
• is flaring
  progressive
• have been flaring
  perfect progressive
• has been flaring
  perfect progressive

Past

• flared
  simple
• had flared
  perfect
• was flaring
  progressive
• were flaring
  progressive
• had been flaring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will flare
  simple
• will have flared
  perfect
• will be flaring
  progressive
• will have been flaring
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of flare

1540–50; original meaning: spread out, said of hair, a ship's sides, etc.; compare Old English flǣre either of the spreading sides at the end of the nose

Explanation

A flare is a sudden burst of light. The flare of a lit match in the dark night is strangely beautiful. The flare of a flame in the dark is sudden and bright, and the flare of an idea or emotion is similarly intense. Parts of clothing that grow wider, like the "bells" on your bell-bottoms — and are also called flares. The verb flare also means to burn brightly or suddenly erupt, like a skin rash that flares up in hot weather or your friend's temper that flares when people tease her about her favorite team losing the big game.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

flare flares flared flaring

A blaze destroyed more than 500 hectares of land on Mount Bromo in 2023 when a couple lit a flare during a pre-wedding photo shoot.

From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026

These measurements were then compared with disease activity and flare outcomes recorded during each visit.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026

Simon’s powers flare up uncontrollably when he’s beset by anxiety and self-doubt.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

While Paul is touring the center, a solar flare creates an electromagnetic disruption that briefly cuts power to the databanks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

In the flare of the flame, his assistants saw a windowless room, roughly twenty-five feet square.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

It’s been another choppy week in markets, featuring a rebound in the artificial-intelligence trade, highly divergent share-price reactions to big tech earnings, and more volatility in oil as the U.S.-Iran war flares up again.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026

Some waved flares which released blue and white smoke.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

Smith has started and re-started baseball activities, only to find out that the inflamed disk in his neck flares up.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026

Red dwarfs, however, can produce powerful flares that imitate the ultraviolet signal of a white dwarf, making confirmation more difficult.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

Brett's face was white and the long line of her neck showed in the bright light of the flares.

From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway

Ken Billington’s lighting and Constance Hoffman’s costumes, which featured swirling flared skirts in different candy-colored plaids for the female chorus, added to the effect, as did Ms. Zambello’s direction, which emphasized thrust rather than sweetness.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

Wildfires have flared in several parts of the country this week, including on the popular island of Crete, and three firefighters have so far lost their lives.

From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026

Ohtani also mentioned earlier this week that his biceps problem, which flared for the second time this season during his last at-bat July 3, has not completely subsided.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

In recent weeks, tensions have flared - with police pinning much of the blame on misinformation online.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

Llewelyn’s nose flared in Danny and Glory’s direction.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

Images from the European Union’s Sentinel-2 Earth observation satellite showed flaring at the plant, but the official Saudi statement didn’t identify Abqaiq as a target of the attack.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

Reaching the semi-finals came at a price, though, with his arm injury flaring up again at Wimbledon and leaving Draper "devastated" at having to pull out of his home Grand Slam.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

To separate the true signals from the effects of stellar flaring, the team developed specialized calibration methods.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

Oil has been back in the spotlight with Iran tensions flaring back up, but investors are more focused on the start of another crucial quarterly earnings season.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 12, 2026

He yelled as blazing rays of light began flaring around him, and ducked underwater again.

From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull

Related Words

• blaze
• boil over
• break out
• burn
• explode
• flash
• flicker
• glow
• seethe