Nearby Words
ɪʃverb (used without object)
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.
EXPANDto make dramatic, sweeping gestures: Flourish more when you act out the king's great death scene.
verb (used with object)
8.
to brandish dramatically; gesticulate with: a conductor flourishing his baton for the crescendo.
9.
to decorate or embellish (writing, a page of script, etc.) with sweeping or fanciful curves or lines.
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Flourish
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
| to bark; yelp. |
Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English florisshen < Middle French floriss-, long stem of florir ≪ Latin flōrēre to bloom, derivative of flōs flower
1250–1300; Middle English florisshen < Middle French floriss-, long stem of florir ≪ Latin flōrēre to bloom, derivative of flōs flower
Related forms
flour·ish·er, noun
out·flour·ish, verb (used with object)
Antonyms
1. fade, decline.
1. fade, decline.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To flourish
Collins
World English Dictionary
| flourish (ˈflʌrɪʃ) | |
| —vb | |
| 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 |
| —n | |
| 10. | the act of waving or brandishing |
| 11. | a showy gesture: he entered with a flourish |
| 12. | an ornamental embellishment in writing |
| 13. | a display of ornamental language or speech |
| 14. | a grandiose passage of music |
| 15. | an ostentatious display or parade |
| 16. | obsolete |
| a. the state of flourishing | |
| b. the state of flowering | |
| [C13: from Old French florir, ultimately from Latin flōrēre to flower, from flōs a flower] | |
| 'flourisher | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
flourish
c.1300, "to blossom, grow," from O.Fr. floriss-, stem of florir, from L. florere "to bloom, blossom, flower," 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.
EXPANDThe noun meaning "literary or rhetorical embellishment" is from c.1600.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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