blare
Americanverb (used without object)
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blares,
present (3rd person singular)
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blared,
past participle, past
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blaring
present participle
verb (used with object)
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blares,
present (3rd person singular)
-
blared,
past participle, past
-
blaring
present participle
noun
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blares
plural
-
a loud, raucous noise.
The blare of the band made conversation impossible.
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glaring intensity of light or color.
A blare of sunlight flooded the room as she opened the shutters.
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fanfare; flourish; ostentation; flamboyance.
a new breakfast cereal proclaimed with all the blare of a Hollywood spectacle.
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Eastern New England. the bawl of a calf.
verb
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to sound loudly and harshly
-
to proclaim loudly and sensationally
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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blaresimple
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blaressimple
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have blaredperfect
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has blaredperfect
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am blaringprogressive
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are blaringprogressive
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is blaringprogressive
-
have been blaringperfect progressive
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has been blaringperfect progressive
Past
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blaredsimple
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had blaredperfect
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was blaringprogressive
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were blaringprogressive
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had been blaringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of blare
1400–50; late Middle English bleren; akin to Middle Dutch blaren, Middle Low German blarren, Middle High German blerren ( German plärren )
Explanation
To blare means to crank up the volume — really LOUDly. Blare is what you do with your dance music if you want your neighbors to hate you. The verb blare has ties to the Middle Dutch word bleren, meaning "to bleat, cry, bawl, shout." Blare describes a loud, harsh, unpleasant sound, something you associate with car horns on a busy city street at rush hour, sirens on a police car, or even music played at an unnecessarily high volume. A club is allowed to blare its dance music. But if you blare music at home? Your neighbors would probably consider that too loud.
Vocabulary lists containing blare
The Diary of Anne Frank
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "B"
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The Poet X
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In a fire, any person expects to hear the piercing blare of a smoke alarm, yet not a single detector sounded that night.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
Mexico’s culture, he wanted to blare, was born long ago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2025
Voices echo through the vast, concrete space and a cacophony of drills and electric lifts beep, buzz and blare.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2025
A severity descriptor on that alert sent it to weather radios and the nation’s Wireless Emergency Alerts system, which blasts weather warnings to cellphones to blare an alarm.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2025
I've now grown accustomed to hearing the alarms blare at all times.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
"It blares 'hands not detected' when I'm not recording properly," said Sriramyachandra, who sends recordings via a special app to the AI data company Objectways.
From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026
It blares at 113 decibels, on par with a rock concert.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026
Loud pop and rock music blares down the entire block, punctuated by the odd cheer and whoop from spectators.
From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2026
Across the street from the exit, a mural blares a message of defiance:
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2026
Static blares for a second in my tiny earpiece.
From "Legend" by Marie Lu
But like many failed relationships, the warning sides blared earlier.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
And as Bhangra beats blared out, fans erupted with cheers while Dosanjh launched into his biggest hits, from G.O.A.T. to Lover.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
An epidemic of car break-ins led owners to post “No Radio” signs in their windows, and auto alarms blared indignantly at all hours.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
As Pope Leo arrived, rhythmic music blared from loudspeakers with inmates breaking into song and dance under the stern gaze of prison officers.
From Barron's ● Apr. 23, 2026
“The Star Spangled Banner” blared from speakers as the American flag rose on a wire over the magenta-colored arena floor.
From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles
One possible source of comfort is that chip-makers aren’t yet blaring their sirens about a capacity squeeze.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
An alarm can be heard blaring as the helicopter appears to be quickly losing altitude.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
Turns out, New York has its own rules against blaring your phone on the subway.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Much of the format is expected to stay the same in any new LIV - a shotgun start, team competition, music blaring from speakers and party holes.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
And every fifth grader singing, tooting, blaring, and blasting sounds to the ceiling.
From "Muffled" by Jennifer Gennari
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
