flaring

[ flair-ing ]

/ ˈflɛər ɪŋ /

adjective

blazing; flaming.

glaringly bright or showy.

spreading gradually outward in form: a flaring skirt.

Nearby words

Origin of flaring

First recorded in 1585–95; flare + -ing²

Related formsflar·ing·ly, adverbun·flar·ing, adjective

flare

[ flair ]

/ flɛər /

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.

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

SYNONYMS FOR flare

1. flame. 2. erupt, explode, flash, blaze, flame. 14. flash.

Related formsout·flare, verb (used with object), out·flared, out·flar·ing.un·flared, adjective

Can be confusedflair flare

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for flaring

Perhaps I should be more understanding, now that my own hoarding tendencies are flaring up.
I’m a Digital Hoarder|Lizzie Crocker|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Crime is on the rise and tensions throughout the city are flaring.
‘Mad Men’: The Bizarre Megan Draper as Sharon Tate Conspiracy Theory|Jace Lacob|May 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Tensions with Israel are flaring again as pro-Palestinian activists prepare to send more aid ships to Gaza.
The Gaza Flotilla PR Battle|Dan Ephron|June 29, 2011|DAILY BEAST
They had existed beside us, beneath us rather, flaring up like brushfire since the first humanoids left the trees.
The Extinction Parade: An Original Zombie Story by Max Brooks|Max Brooks|January 14, 2011|DAILY BEAST

Any man who successfully manages a harem knows he must be on the lookout for such resentments, and prevent them from flaring up.
How Not to Manage a Harem|Tracy Quan|December 8, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Twenty feet below there came the glistening reflection of the flaring flame.
The Cross-Cut|Courtney Ryley Cooper
Betty, looking from her window, saw only flaring oil lamps and gasoline torches illuminating the street.
The Heart of Canyon Pass|Thomas K. Holmes
Through the glass side of the café one could see the moving, flaring lights of the Boulevard Saint-Michel.
The Belovd Vagabond|William J. Locke
The Vicar's wife regarded her as too large and flaring and curvilinear for reputable good looks.
Septimus|William J. Locke
I shall not readily forget the view disclosed to me by the flaring oil lamps hung in sconces to the ancient smoky walls.
Simon Dale|Anthony Hope

British Dictionary definitions for flaring

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 Formsflared, 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

Word Origin and History for flaring

flare

"bright, unsteady light," 1814, from flare (v.), which led to the sense of "signal fire" (1883). Flares "flared trousers" is from 1964.

flare

mid-16c., originally "spread out" (hair), of unknown origin, perhaps from Dutch vlederen. Related: Flared; flaring. The notion of "spreading out in display" is behind the notion of "spreading gradually outward" (1640s). Flare-up "a sudden burst" is from 1837.

Medicine definitions for flaring

flare

[ flâr ]

n.

An area of redness on the skin surrounding the primary site of infection or irritation.

flaring

adjective

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of flaring

flare

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

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

noun

Origin of flare

Examples from the Web for flaring

flare

verb

noun

Word Origin for flare

flare

flare

flare

n.