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flare - 10 dictionary results

flare

  [flair] verb, flared, flar⋅ing, noun
Use flare in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to burn with an unsteady, swaying flame, as a torch or candle in the wind.
2. to blaze with a sudden burst of flame (often fol. by up): The fire flared up as the paper caught.
3. to start up or burst out in sudden, fierce activity, passion, etc. (often fol. by up or out): Tempers flared at the meeting. Violence flared up in a new section of the city.
4. to shine or glow.
5. to spread gradually outward, as the end of a trumpet, the bottom of a wide skirt, or the sides of a ship.
–verb (used with object)
6. to cause (a candle, torch, etc.) to burn with a swaying flame.
7. to display conspicuously or ostentatiously.
8. to signal by flares of fire or light.
9. to cause (something) to spread gradually outward in form.
10. Metallurgy. to heat (a high-zinc brass) to such a high temperature that the zinc vapors begin to burn.
11. to discharge and burn (excess gas) at a well or refinery.
–noun
12. a flaring or swaying flame or light, as of torches in the wind.
13. a sudden blaze or burst of flame.
14. a bright blaze of fire or light used as a signal, a means of illumination or guidance, etc.
15. a device or substance used to produce such a blaze of fire or light.
16. a sudden burst, as of zeal or of anger.
17. a gradual spread outward in form; outward curvature: the flare of a skirt.
18. something that spreads out.
19. Optics. unwanted light reaching the image plane of an optical instrument, resulting from extraneous reflections, scattering by lenses, and the like.
20. Photography. a fogged appearance given to an image by reflection within a camera lens or within the camera itself.
21. Also called solar flare. Astronomy. a sudden and brief brightening of the solar atmosphere in the vicinity of a sunspot that results from an explosive release of particles and radiation.
22. Football. a short pass thrown to a back who is running toward a sideline and is not beyond the line of scrimmage.
23. Television. a dark area on a picture tube caused by variations in light intensity.
—Verb phrase
24. flare out or up, to become suddenly enraged: She flares up easily.
Origin:
1540–50; orig. meaning: spread out, said of hair, a ship's sides, etc.; cf. OE flǣre either of the spreading sides at the end of the nose

Synonyms:
1. flame. 3. erupt, explode, flash, blaze, flame. 13. flash.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To flare
flare   (flâr)   
v.   flared, flar·ing, flares

v.   intr.
  1. To flame up with a bright, wavering light.
  2. To burst into intense, sudden flame.
    1. To erupt or intensify suddenly: Tempers flared at the meeting. His allergies flared up.
    2. To become suddenly angry. Used with up: He flared up when she alluded to his financial difficulties.
    3. To make a sudden angry verbal attack. Used with out: flared out at his accusers.
  4. To expand or open outward in shape: a skirt that flares from the waist; nostrils that flared with anger.
v.   tr.
  1. To cause to flame up.
  2. To signal with a blaze of light.
n.  
  1. A brief wavering blaze of light.
  2. A device that produces a bright light for signaling, illumination, or identification.
  3. An outbreak, as of emotion or activity.
  4. An expanding or opening outward.
  5. An unwanted reflection within an optical system or the resultant fogging of the image.
  6. A solar flare.
    1. Football A short pass to a back running toward the sideline.
    2. Baseball A fly ball hit a short distance into the outfield.
  8. Medicine An area of redness on the skin surrounding the primary site of infection or irritation.

[Origin unknown.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Flare

Flare\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Flared; p. pr. & vb. n. Flaring.] [Cf. Norw. flara to blaze, flame, adorn with tinsel, dial. Sw. flasa upp, and E. flash, or flacker.]

1. To burn with an unsteady or waving flame; as, the candle flares.

2. To shine out with a sudden and unsteady light; to emit a dazzling or painfully bright light.

3. To shine out with gaudy colors; to flaunt; to be offensively bright or showy.

With ribbons pendant, flaring about her head. --Shak.

4. To be exposed to too much light. [Obs.]

Flaring in sunshine all the day. --Prior.

5. To open or spread outwards; to project beyond the perpendicular; as, the sides of a bowl flare; the bows of a ship flare.

To flare up, to become suddenly heated or excited; to burst into a passion. [Colloq.] --Thackeray.

Flare

Flare\, n. 1. An unsteady, broad, offensive light.

2. A spreading outward; as, the flare of a fireplace.

Flare

Flare\, n. Leaf of lard. "Pig's flare." --Dunglison.

Flare

Flare\, n. (Photog.) A defect in a photographic objective such that an image of the stop, or diaphragm, appears as a fogged spot in the center of the developed negative.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : flare
Spanish: llamear,
German: flackern,
Japanese: めらめらと燃える
More Translations »

flare  (v.)
c.1550, originally "spread out" (hair), of unknown origin, perhaps from Du. vlederen. The noun meaning "bright, unsteady light" is 1814, from the verb, which led to the sense of "signal fire" (1883). The notion of "spreading out in display" is behind the notion of "spreading gradually outward" (1644). Flare-up "a sudden burst" is from 1837. Flares "flared trousers" is from 1964.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: 1flare
Pronunciation: 'fla(&)r, 'fle(&)r
Function: intransitive verb
Inflected Forms: flared; flar·ing
: to break out or intensify rapidly : become suddenly worse or more painful —often used with up flare up —W. A. Nolen>

Main Entry: 2flare
Function: noun
1 : a sudden outburst or worsening of a disease flares in rheumatoid arthritis—Emergency Medicine> —see FLARE-UP
2 : an area of skin flush resulting from andspreading out from a local center of vascular dilation and hyperemia flare>
3 : the presence of floating particles in the fluid of the anterior chamber ofthe eye called also aqueous flare
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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flare (flâr)
n.
An area of redness on the skin surrounding the primary site of infection or irritation.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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