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

“I would be an idiot not to walk away from her and let her flourish in her career,” he continued.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

By the time a fourth package arrives—this one for Judith—the reader has likely identified the killer, and the novel’s finale seems like a cursory flourish.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

Placing famous directors in front of the camera is a classic auteur filmmaker flourish, and Safdie is both an actor and a director mainly associated with indie films.

From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026

The Newry-born athlete added she had to "work really hard" on Wednesday and that she did, finishing with a flourish.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

Miss Love brought in the hot pound cake on Granny’s best china plate, holding it high over her head, and set it down in front of Grandpa with a grand flourish.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

Surrounded by the gold-leaf flourishes that now line the walls of the Oval Office, they tell him they’re headed out on the great American road trip, and he looks like he couldn’t care less.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

Likewise, Paris Fashion Week isn’t known to feature designers whose collections can be worn off the rack, instead showcasing works of great sartorial ambition, with severe silhouettes and playful flourishes alike.

From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2026

In the mango-growing heartland of Tando Allahyar, Mohammad Shakeel manages orchards that grow the golden-yellow Sindhri variety, named after the province where it flourishes and famous for its rich flavour and juicy pulp.

From Barron's ● Jun. 21, 2026

Stand out in a sea of stretchy polos and soulless chinos with attire that marries the look of nostalgic golf style with modern flourishes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026

Similarly, take a bit of unpunctuated prose, add the dots and flourishes in the right place, stand back, and what have you got?

From "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" by Author

It appears to have flourished roughly 3,000 years ago, boasting splendors even more exquisite than those of China’s heralded ancient dynasties.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

Both industries have flourished in a world of falling interest rates, plentiful leverage and abundant global capital.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

Netball flourished alongside hockey, tennis, cricket, cycling, swimming and dancing, while students were taught anatomy, physiology and hygiene, theory of movement, massage and medicine gymnastics.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

Huges said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine flourished by necessity.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026

His skin became covered with a thin moss, similar to that which flourished on the antique vest that he never took off, and his breath exhaled the odor of a sleeping animal.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

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

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

Science denialism comes from many directions, and unfortunately we are in a period where it’s flourishing.

From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026

By the seventh century, the West had withered with the fall of Rome, but the East was flourishing.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Related Words

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