Herman Wouk
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Burgeon arrived in Middle English as burjonen, a borrowing from the Anglo-French verb burjuner, meaning "to bud or sprout." Burgeon is often used figuratively, as when writer Ta-Nehisi Coates used it in his 2008 memoir The Beautiful Struggle: "… I was in the burgeoning class of kids whose families made too much for financial aid but not enough to make tuition payments anything less than a war." Usage commentators have objected to the use of burgeon to mean "to flourish" or "to grow rapidly," insisting that any figurative use should stay true to the word's earliest literal meaning and distinguish budding or sprouting from subsequent growing. But the sense of burgeon that indicates growing or expanding and prospering (as in "the burgeoning music scene" or "the burgeoning international market") has been in established use for decades and is, in fact, the most common use of burgeon today.
Examples of burgeon in a Sentence
Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 16 Sep. 2025
Smith is among a growing number of burgeoning models who hail from famous families.
—Julia Teti, Footwear News, 16 Sep. 2025
The festival grew with the burgeoning indie film movement, evolving into one of the most influential forces in American cinema.
—Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 16 Sep. 2025
Industries sprouted and bloomed, inventions burgeoned, standards of living for masses always hit new heights.
—Brian Domitrovic, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for burgeon
Cite this Entry
“Burgeon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/burgeon. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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burgeon
verb
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