flare

flare

noun

Definition of FLARE

1

a sudden and usually temporary growth of activity <a flare in antacid sales around the holidays>

Synonyms burst, flare, flare-up, flash, flicker, flurry, flutter, outburst, spurt

Related Words recrudescence, recurrence, renewal; binge, jag, spree; boost, increase, pickup, upswing, upturn; epidemic, eruption, explosion, paroxysm; deluge, flood, rush, spate, surge, volley; commotion, furor, uproar

Near Antonyms calm, doldrums, slump

2

a sudden intense expression of strong feeling <ended the quarrel with a stunning flare of swearwords>

Synonyms agony, blaze, burst, ebullition, eruption, explosion, fit, flare, flare-up, flash, flush, gale, gush, gust, paroxysm, spasm, storm

Related Words blowup, grouch, rage, tantrum; ecstasy, rapture, transport; delirium, firestorm, frenzy, furor

3

the steady giving off of the form of radiation that makes vision possible <in the darkness the flare of a single match might be seen by enemy troops>

Synonyms blaze, flare, fluorescence, glare, gleam, glow, illumination, incandescence, luminescence, radiance, shine

Related Words flash, glimmer, glint, glitter, scintillation, shimmer, sparkle, twinkle; daylight, moonlight, sunlight, sunshine; afterglow, aureole (or aureola), aurora, beam, halo, ray, shaft, streak, stream, sunbeam; glisten, gloss, luster (or lustre), polish, reflection, sheen

Near Antonyms blackness, dark, darkness, dimness, dusk, duskiness, gloom, night, shadow