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]
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.
a shape that spreads outward; "the skirt had a wide flare"
2.
a sudden burst of flame
3.
a burst of light used to communicate or illuminate
4.
reddening of the skin spreading outward from a focus of infection or irritation
5.
a sudden recurrence or worsening of symptoms; "a colitis flare"; "infection can cause a lupus flare"
6.
a sudden eruption of intense high-energy radiation from the sun's surface; associated with sunspots and radio interference [syn: solar flare]
7.
am unwanted reflection in an optical system (or the fogging of an image that is caused by such a reflection)
8.
a sudden outburst of emotion; "she felt a flare of delight"; "she could not control her flare of rage"
9.
a device that produces a bright light for warning or illumination or identification
10.
a short forward pass to a back who is running toward the sidelines; "he threw a flare to the fullback who was tackled for a loss" [syn: flare pass]
11.
(baseball) a fly ball hit a short distance into the outfield
verb
1.
burn brightly; "Every star seemed to flare with new intensity"
2.
become flared and widen, usually at one end; "The bellbottom pants flare out" [syn: flare out]
3.
shine with a sudden light; "The night sky flared with the massive bombardment"
4.
erupt or intensify suddenly; "Unrest erupted in the country"; "Tempers flared at the meeting"; "The crowd irrupted into a burst of patriotism" [syn: erupt]
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\, 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.
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