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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.

flare-up

British  

noun

1. a sudden burst of fire or light

2. informal a sudden burst of emotion or violence

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verb

1. to burst suddenly into fire or light

2. informal to burst into anger

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.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

flare-up flare up

Given this flare-up in fighting, reporters asked if there would be an end to this war.

From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026

Meanwhile, left tackle Rashawn Slater, who missed all of last season after sustaining a knee injury in training camp, was sidelined for much of August because of a flare-up to that same knee.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026

A co-ordinated international naval response together with private security on commercial ships successfully drove down the scourge and contained a flare-up in 2023 and 2024.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

Oil prices continued to decline on Wednesday as concerns over another military flare-up in the Middle East receded.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

I get my treatments, I take my medicine, I drink my body weight in milk shakes, I get to see Barb and Julie, I leave until my next flare-up.

From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott

But a flare up of her endometriosis, a condition which sees tissue similar to the lining of the womb grow outside of it, meant she was competing in difficult conditions:

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

California’s struggling wine industry says it expects to take another hit as trade tensions between the U.S. and Canada flare up again.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

But Apple’s “go-slow” strategy comes in handy on days when investor concerns about AI overspending flare up, insulating the stock from downturns that hit the semiconductor space.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

"While geopolitical risks could still flare up, the more pressing issue appears to be macro-related," he said, pointing to the recent rise in sovereign bond yields and the prospect of central banks raising interest rates.

From Barron's ● May 21, 2026

Usually it was fine, he said, but it could flare up fast since the pressure wasn’t steady.

From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez

Related Words

• blowup
• epidemic
• eruption
• explosion
• outburst