flourish
Americanverb (used without object)
-
flourishes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
flourished,
past participle, past
-
flourishing
present participle
-
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.
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to add embellishments and ornamental lines to writing, letters, etc.
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to sound a trumpet call or fanfare.
verb (used with object)
-
flourishes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
flourished,
past participle, past
-
flourishing
present participle
-
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.
- Synonyms:
- ornament
noun
-
flourishes
plural
-
an act or instance of brandishing.
-
an ostentatious display.
-
a decoration or embellishment, especially in writing.
He added a few flourishes to his signature.
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Rhetoric. a parade of fine language; an expression used merely for effect.
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a trumpet call or fanfare.
-
a condition or period of thriving.
in full flourish.
verb
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(intr) to thrive; prosper
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(intr) to be at the peak of condition
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(intr) to be healthy
plants flourish in the light
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to wave or cause to wave in the air with sweeping strokes
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to display or make a display
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to play (a fanfare, etc) on a musical instrument
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(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 gesture
he 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
-
Synonym Usage
See succeed.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
flourishsimple
-
flourishessimple
-
have flourishedperfect
-
has flourishedperfect
-
am flourishingprogressive
-
are flourishingprogressive
-
is flourishingprogressive
-
have been flourishingperfect progressive
-
has been flourishingperfect progressive
Past
-
flourishedsimple
-
had flourishedperfect
-
was flourishingprogressive
-
were flourishingprogressive
-
had been flourishingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing flourish
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
She said she would continue to coach and support the league so it could continue to succeed and flourish.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Meanwhile, with “In My Life,” listeners are treated to multiple takes in which Martin transforms the song’s Bach-like keyboard interlude from a Hammond organ solo into a piano flourish for the ages.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
The theatrical flourish seems jarring, but so too is the historic moment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
Despite the shock treatment there was little sense the tourists will be sparked back to life to finish this series with a flourish as they slumped to 100-7.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
“We must not wait much longer. We need to go where we can be safe and flourish for many years, for generation upon generation.”
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
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
This Vanguart timepiece, commissioned by OpenAI founder Sam Altman, has several geeky flourishes, including an inscription written in Python programming language.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Even the song Rock Music is full of manipulated vocals and electronic flourishes.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
The card is thick creamy linen paper with raised gold lettering, with so many swirls and flourishes it’s hard to read. inia.
From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau
The used-car space had flourished in recent years, as new vehicle prices crossed $50,000 on average.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
It also contained various other relics – including metal weapons – belonging to the pre-Incan Chimu civilisation, a culture that flourished on the northern coast of Peru between 900 and 1470 AD.
From BBC ● 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
During the wet spring, she said, undergrowth flourished, leaving an enormous layer of tinder once heat waves took hold in June.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
Anaxagoras was an Ionian experimentalist who flourished around 450 B.C. and lived in Athens.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Indeed, the words "HELP" and "SOS" have been scratched out in the weeds now flourishing on the exposed lake bed.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
This comes as the IPO market has been flourishing until recently.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
Her new parternship with 20-year-old Lexi Potter is flourishing and has allowed Walsh to get further up the pitch and play with more freedom.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
Steinem spoke explicitly about pushing the women’s movement beyond its initial concerns—essentially, the benumbed, unfulfilled flourishing of white middle-class housewives like her own mother.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
When his land was flourishing, he went back home and married a young woman named Susan.
From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
