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  • flare-up
    flare-up
    noun
    a sudden burst of fire or light
  • flare up
    flare up
    Suddenly become angry, as in She flared up at the slightest provocation. This metaphoric expression, dating from the mid-1800s, transfers a sudden burst of flame to sudden rage.
Synonyms

flare-up

British  

noun

  1. a sudden burst of fire or light

  2. informal a sudden burst of emotion or violence

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to burst suddenly into fire or light

  2. informal to burst into anger

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
flare up Idioms  

  1. Suddenly become angry, as in She flared up at the slightest provocation. This metaphoric expression, dating from the mid-1800s, transfers a sudden burst of flame to sudden rage.

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.

My eyes dim for the skyline Where purple peaks aspire, And the forges of the sunset Flare up in golden fire.

From Later Poems by Carman, Bliss

Flare up thine embers, brazier, and dutifully smoulder, To kindle a brand, that I the first may strike the citadel.

From Lysistrata by Aristophanes

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.