flare

[ flair ]

/ flɛər /

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See synonyms for: flare / flaring on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), flared, flar·ing.

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

to blaze with a sudden burst of flame (often followed by up): The fire flared up as the paper caught.

to start up or burst out in sudden, fierce intensity or activity (often followed by up): His stomach problems have flared up.

to become suddenly enraged; express sudden, fierce anger or passion (usually followed by up or out): I’m not a person who flares easily. She sometimes flares out at the kids.

to shine or glow.

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

verb (used with object), flared, flar·ing.

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

to display conspicuously or ostentatiously.

to signal by flares of fire or light.

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

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

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

noun

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

a sudden blaze or burst of flame.

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

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

a sudden burst, as of zeal or of anger.

a gradual spread outward in form; outward curvature: the flare of a skirt.

something that spreads out.

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.

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

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.

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

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

OTHER WORDS FOR flare

1 flame.

2 erupt, explode, flash, blaze, flame.

14 flash.

See synonyms for flare on Thesaurus.com

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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

OTHER WORDS FROM flare

outflare, verb (used with object), out·flared, out·flar·ing.un·flared, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH flare

flair, flare

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use flare in a sentence

In the right circumstances, Google Photos' effects are more than enough to add a little flare to your pics.
Google Photos is better at image editing than you think|Harry Guinness|November 17, 2020|Popular-Science
A tearing and reforming magnetic field could beam out radio waves directly, or a bursting crust could launch eruptions of particles analogous to solar flares, which could in turn cause FRBs.
Astronomers have traced mysterious radio waves to a source in our own galaxy|Charlie Wood|November 4, 2020|Popular-Science
Several of them have been pelted with rocks and shot at with flare guns.
The Lobster Attacks Striking at Canada’s Friendly Image|Charu Kasturi|October 29, 2020|Ozy
From the delightful to the experimental to the just plain boring, she and Neil evaluate how the major leagues handle the extra flare of marking championship teams’ jerseys.
Who’s The Nerdiest Team In Sports?|Sarah Shachat|October 27, 2020|FiveThirtyEight

This will create light streaks or solar flares that can add a fun touch.
11 Great Microadventures You Can Do Now|The Editors|October 1, 2020|Outside Online
The (very wealthy) de la Renta women wore bold colors, flared sleeves, full-bodied skirts and trousers.
Fashion Designer Oscar de la Renta, American Great, Dead at 82|Tim Teeman|October 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But at the end of May, the epidemic flared, and this time it spread to Monrovia.
‘He Could Have Brought Ebola Here’: Minnesota Widow on Her Husband|Michael Daly|July 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Berg: The Google Bus stuff flared up and became a national story after we had written the episodes and were shooting.
Mike Judge’s Genius Satire ‘Silicon Valley’ Skewers Tech Titans|Andrew Romano|April 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He looked like an easy target in 2012, and rumors of a Fossella comeback again flared.
Grimm’s Dysfunctional District|David Freedlander|January 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A highlight was the lone feline gender-bender: a brown male Bengal wearing a flared party skirt.
Kitty CATure Fashion Show, An Amazing Dog and Cat Fashion Show, Happened In New York This Weekend|Lori-Lee Emshey|September 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The remaining one struggled for another half-minute, and flared up in one last, desperate effort.
The Boarded-Up House|Augusta Huiell Seaman
Apathy and indifference flared up like straws in a sudden flame of passion.
The Dragon Painter|Mary McNeil Fenollosa
The shop windows flared through the crowds so brightly that they seemed to have brought up electric reinforcements.
The Woman Gives|Owen Johnson
Here and there chandeliers were being lighted for the concerts, blazes of gaslight flared among the green trees.
The Nabob|Alphonse Daudet
Across the river was the hunched sky-line of Doulton's potteries, and a kiln flared redly.
The New Machiavelli|Herbert George Wells

British Dictionary definitions for flare

flare

/ (flɛə) /

verb

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

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

(tr) to make a conspicuous display of

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

(tr sometimes foll by off) (in the oil industry) to burn off (unwanted gas) at an oil well

noun

an unsteady flame

a sudden burst of flame

a blaze of light or fire used to illuminate, identify, alert, signal distress, etc
the device producing such a blaze

a spreading shape or anything with a spreading shapea skirt with a flare

a sudden outburst, as of emotion

optics

the unwanted light reaching the image region of an optical device by reflections inside the instrument, etc
the fogged area formed on a negative by such reflectionsSee also solar flare

astronomy short for solar flare

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

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

Derived forms of flare

flared, adjective

Word Origin for flare

C16 (to spread out): of unknown origin

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

OTHER WORDS FOR flare

Origin of flare

OTHER WORDS FROM flare

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH flare

Words related to flare

How to use flare in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for flare

Derived forms of flare

Word Origin for flare