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 flourished

develop, blossom, multiply, succeed, boom, expand, bloom, thrive, flower, augment, batten, wax, increase, score, burgeon, go, arrive, amplify, twirl, display

Examples from the Web for flourished

Contemporary Examples of flourished

Before ISIS militants surrounded the Syrian city, it had flourished as a place of tolerance and free speech.
Remembering Kobani Before The Siege
Mustafa Abdi, Movements.Org, Advancing Human Rights
November 8, 2014
As the Arabian Peninsula flourished, the area became the center of cultural development.
When Saudi Arabia Ruled the World
Emily Wilson
October 31, 2014
In Mauritania, Chinguetti once flourished with scholars, pilgrims, and religious leaders.
The Lost Libraries of the Sahara‬
Nina Strochlic
September 11, 2014
Only one of them, Mormonism, has taken root and flourished as a true religion sprung from our own native ground.
The Tea Party Isn’t a Political Movement, It’s a Religious One
Jack Schwartz
July 13, 2014
That turned out to be the right decision, because my act really grew and flourished most after my writing job at SNL.
My Rocky Time As A Woman Writer on ‘SNL’
Carol Leifer
April 6, 2014

Historical Examples of flourished

Giles was their “ancient” and had charge of the banner, nor could it be doubted that he had flourished.
The Armourer's Prentices
Charlotte M. Yonge
These trees are reputed to have flourished for much more than a thousand years.
The Grand Old Man
Richard B. Cook
An extinct pachyderm that flourished when the Pterodactyl was in fashion.
The Devil's Dictionary
Ambrose Bierce
The weeds that had flourished along the sides of the ditches were all dead.
The Widow O'Callaghan's Boys
Gulielma Zollinger
But the habit of the stick was too powerful; and he flourished it again.
The Memoirs of Louis XIV., His Court and The Regency, Complete
Duc de Saint-Simon

British Dictionary definitions for flourished

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 flourished

flourish

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.

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.