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

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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

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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

But he makes the point that everyone's skin is individual and that "some people may find that other things flare up their skin".

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

If confirmed, the loss of the F-15 would be the first for Saudi Arabia in the latest flare up in the decadelong war.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

The more concentrated flow helps maintain a similar peak fallback rate, and therefore roughly the same predicted flare brightness.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026

Left tackle Rashawn Slater is dealing with a flare up of his surgically repaired knee and missed practices this week.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

Not only had Foaly built their communications network from scratch, but he was also a pioneer in the field of flare prediction.

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer

Together, the findings suggest that recurring flares involve a coordinated and increasingly active inflammatory environment, rather than just a handful of immune cells acting independently.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2026

Their analysis revealed two distinct populations of immune cells that appeared during both flares.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2026

The frigate had fired "two flares towards the helicopter. One of the flares passed at close range to the helicopter," it added.

From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026

And on Tuesday Denmark also accused a Russian warship of firing two emergency flares at one of its helicopters while it was tracking the vessel in the Baltic Sea.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

He is always prepared with a supply of bottled water, road flares, and a bunch of other emergency supplies.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

The high, flared wheel arches, the tall, curved roof and the eye-like headlights are all reminders of the original "deux chevaux" or "two horses".

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

The long simmering conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni militant group flared into renewed war over the summer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

Zips were used to modulate the length of skirts, they ran across leather jackets and down a flared blue pair of trousers.

From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026

Tensions flared on the eve of a critical week ahead for Paramount Skydance’s proposed $111-billion acquisition of Warner Bros.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026

Unbidden, an image flared in front of him.

From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai

New heated debates are flaring up across the industry as CEOs, researchers and policymakers grapple with what it means to pace the frontier.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026

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

“It was flaring up, wasn’t recovering — however you want to word it,” Roberts said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

The crowd was gathering, a good twenty men and boys and a few women, carrying flaring pine torches.

From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare

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Related Words

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

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