flourish

American  

[flur-ish, fluhr-] / ˈflɜr ɪʃ, ˈflʌr- /

verb (used without object)

• flourishes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• flourished,
  past participle,  past
• flourishing
  present participle

1. 

   to be in a vigorous state; thrive.

   a period in which art flourished.

   Synonyms:

   increase, grow

   Antonyms:

   decline, fade

2. to be in its or in one's prime; be at the height of fame, excellence, influence, etc.

3. to be successful; prosper.

4. to grow luxuriantly, or thrive in growth, as a plant.

5. to make dramatic, sweeping gestures.

   Flourish more when you act out the king's great death scene.

6. to add embellishments and ornamental lines to writing, letters, etc.

7. to sound a trumpet call or fanfare.

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verb (used with object)

• flourishes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• flourished,
  past participle,  past
• flourishing
  present participle

1. to brandish dramatically; gesticulate with.

   a conductor flourishing his baton for the crescendo.

2. to decorate or embellish (writing, a page of script, etc.) with sweeping or fanciful curves or lines.

   Synonyms:

   ornament

noun

• flourishes
  plural

1. an act or instance of brandishing.

2. an ostentatious display.

3. a decoration or embellishment, especially in writing.

   He added a few flourishes to his signature.

   Synonyms:

   adornment, ornament

4. Rhetoric. a parade of fine language; an expression used merely for effect.

5. a trumpet call or fanfare.

6. a condition or period of thriving.

   in full flourish.

flourish British  

/ ˈflʌrɪʃ /

verb

1. (intr) to thrive; prosper

2. (intr) to be at the peak of condition

3. (intr) to be healthy

   plants flourish in the light

4. to wave or cause to wave in the air with sweeping strokes

5. to display or make a display

6. to play (a fanfare, etc) on a musical instrument

7. (intr) to embellish writing, characters, etc, with ornamental strokes

8. to add decorations or embellishments to (speech or writing)

9. (intr) an obsolete word for blossom

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noun

1. the act of waving or brandishing

2. a showy gesture

   he entered with a flourish

3. an ornamental embellishment in writing

4. a display of ornamental language or speech

5. a grandiose passage of music

6. an ostentatious display or parade

7. obsolete

   1. the state of flourishing

   2. the state of flowering

Synonym Usage

See succeed.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• flourisher
  noun
• outflourish
  verb (used with object)

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• flourishes
  plural

Participles

• flourishing
  present
• flourished
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• flourish
  simple
• flourishes
  simple
• have flourished
  perfect
• has flourished
  perfect
• am flourishing
  progressive
• are flourishing
  progressive
• is flourishing
  progressive
• have been flourishing
  perfect progressive
• has been flourishing
  perfect progressive

Past

• flourished
  simple
• had flourished
  perfect
• was flourishing
  progressive
• were flourishing
  progressive
• had been flourishing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will flourish
  simple
• will have flourished
  perfect
• will be flourishing
  progressive
• will have been flourishing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of flourish

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English florisshen, from Middle French floriss-, long stem of florir, ultimately from Latin flōrēre “to bloom,” derivative of flōs flower

Explanation

A flourish is an extra touch — a trumpet's "ta-ta-da!" announcing a king's entrance, a fancy carving atop an otherwise utilitarian pillar, a wave of a flag or a cheerleader's pompom. Flourish can also mean "growth": "With the right teacher, a child will flourish." To understand how the two meanings of flourish connect, remember that the word "flower" (spelled flour-) is hiding inside it. Flowers are used for decoration and ornamentation, but they also grow. Get it? Good for you! Imagine a cheerleader shouting out your name, flourishing her pom-poms.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

flourish flourishes flourished flourishing

The theatrical flourish seems jarring, but so too is the historic moment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

Only weeks later, the administration announced a large influx of unusually cheap imported ground beef before publicly identifying all of its sources, leaving enough of an informational vacuum for unsupported horse-meat rumors to flourish online.

From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026

Follow her along as she takes you inside Taiwan’s temples, where decades of separation from China have allowed faith and folk traditions to flourish.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026

Raphi Bloom, chair of the Yom Kippur Commemoration, said the service was "not only about remembrance" but was also about resilience and "honouring Melvin and Adrian by ensuring that Jewish life continues to flourish".

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

One would imagine the contents of a dish, and the other would uncover it with a small, dramatic flourish.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

His trademark flourishes included walls of windows and built-in furniture.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026

Johnson has apparently instituted a number of USA-style flourishes into the program.

From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2026

Shaboozey has cited Leone and Quentin Tarantino as inspirations in his work, and the new collection is stuffed—some will say overstuffed—with pulpy cinematic flourishes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

The piece foreshadows Saar’s penchant for transforming common items into near-mystical objects with seemingly simple flourishes that belie complex themes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

Hyacinth sat by the tree, adding flourishes to her gift wrapping.

From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser

In a place where you usually find ginkgo trees in private gardens or untamed forests, this one is special, Jung says, because it flourished on the side of the road.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Huawei has flourished despite the sanctions, expanding into new businesses, boosting profitability and finding fresh ways to curb its dependence on U.S. suppliers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

"Stromatolites could be more than 'just' a cradle of life where early microbial life flourished," says A/Prof. Burns.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026

A bipartisan package of bills aimed at punishing unethical attorneys and hedge funds that have flourished within California’s legal industry is headed to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

Astrology, which has flourished from the days of ancient Babylon down to today, is completely absent from classical Greece.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

It can also help reconstruct the ecology of early Paleozoic oceans, when crinoids were among many early animal groups flourishing in reef ecosystems.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026

Both are flourishing and show what a little freedom can do.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

He ended decades of political dominance by dynastic parties and envisioned a national welfare state modelled on the Islamic golden age of the seventh to 14th centuries, a flourishing period in the Muslim world.

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

Parents offer something neither can: an intimate knowledge of their own child and a lifelong commitment to that child’s flourishing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

I’d had so many careful, sensible conversations at this point, with so many people, about how to extract myself from a career in which, by all outward measures, I was flourishing.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Related Words

• bloom
• blossom
• boom
• develop
• do well
• expand
• multiply
• succeed
• thrive