flourish

[flur-ish, fluhr-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR flourish ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

to be in a vigorous state; thrive: a period in which art flourished.

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

to be successful; prosper.

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

to make dramatic, sweeping gestures: Flourish more when you act out the king's great death scene.

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

to sound a trumpet call or fanfare.

verb (used with object)

to brandish dramatically; gesticulate with: a conductor flourishing his baton for the crescendo.

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

noun

an act or instance of brandishing.

an ostentatious display.

a decoration or embellishment, especially in writing: He added a few flourishes to his signature.

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

a trumpet call or fanfare.

a condition or period of thriving: in full flourish.

Origin of flourish

1250–1300; Middle English florisshen < Middle French floriss-, long stem of florir ≪ Latin flōrēre to bloom, derivative of flōs flower

Related formsflour·ish·er, nounout·flour·ish, verb (used with object)

Synonyms for flourish

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR flourish ON THESAURUS.COM

1. grow, increase. See succeed. 9. ornament. 12. ornament, adornment.

Antonyms for flourish

1. fade, decline.

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

Related Words for flourish

twist, embellishment, ornamentation, quirk, develop, blossom, multiply, succeed, boom, expand, bloom, thrive, plume, spiral, sweep, curl, garnish, furbelow, flower, augment

Examples from the Web for flourish

Contemporary Examples of flourish

Her father gazes back at her happily, tips his hat, and bows with a flourish.
Knocking on Heaven's Door: True Stories of Unexplained, Uncanny Experiences at the Hour of Death
Patricia Pearson
August 11, 2014
This fact was revealed with a flourish during a Life Lesson on the importance of discretion, which is a story for another day.
Quality Bud, but Like, Whoa, The Prices
Kelly Williams Brown
July 26, 2014
Pretending and imaginative play also flourish, and imaginary friends are common companions to young schoolchildren.
Diagnosing Jane, Louis C.K.’s Troubled Daughter on ‘Louie’ Who Can’t Separate Dreams From Reality
Russell Saunders
May 15, 2014
In 2006, he left LA with a flourish when the Tribune Co. demanded severe cuts in the newsroom and Baquet refused to make them.
Jill Abramson Fired from the Times: Was It About Money and Sexism—Or Management Style?
Lloyd Grove
May 15, 2014
Despite starting with a flourish, that site has gone quiet in recent days as it undergoes a reorganization.
Guardian and WaPo Share Pulitzer: Snowden Hails Victory for “More Accountable Democracy”
David Freedlander
April 14, 2014

Historical Examples of flourish

Emma finished the sleeve of the blouse she was mending with a flourish.
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton Campus
Jessie Graham Flower
With a flourish Katy seated him, and carried the packages to Linda.
Her Father's Daughter
Gene Stratton-Porter
And the stranger, with a flourish of his hand, turned to the door.
Night and Morning, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Not of late years,' replied the Chief, with a flourish of his hand.
Little Dorrit
Charles Dickens
When he had finished this epistle, Rigaud folded it and tossed it with a flourish at Clennam's feet.
Little Dorrit
Charles Dickens

British Dictionary definitions for flourish

flourish

verb

(intr) to thrive; prosper

(intr) to be at the peak of condition

(intr) to be healthyplants flourish in the light

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

to display or make a display

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

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

to add decorations or embellishments to (speech or writing)

(intr) an obsolete word for blossom

noun

the act of waving or brandishing

a showy gesturehe entered with a flourish

an ornamental embellishment in writing

a display of ornamental language or speech

a grandiose passage of music

an ostentatious display or parade

obsolete

the state of flourishing
the state of flowering

Derived Formsflourisher, noun

Word Origin for flourish

C13: from Old French florir, ultimately from Latin flōrēre to flower, from flōs a flower

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 flourish

c.1300, "to blossom, grow," from Old French floriss-, stem of florir "blossom, flower, bloom, flourish," from Latin florere "to bloom, blossom, flower," figuratively "to flourish, be prosperous," from flos "a flower" (see flora).

Metaphoric sense of "thrive" is mid-14c. Meaning "to brandish (a weapon)" first attested late 14c. Related: Flourished; flourishing.

c.1500, "a blossom," from flourish (v.). Meaning "ostentatious waving of a weapon" is from 1550s; that of "literary or rhetorical embellishment" is from c.1600.