flourish

1 of 2

verb

flour·​ish ˈflər-ish 

ˈflə-rish

flourished; flourishing; flourishes

intransitive verb

1

: to grow luxuriantly : thrive

2

a

: to achieve success : prosper

a flourishing business

b

: to be in a state of activity or production

flourished around 1850

c

: to reach a height of development or influence

The company flourished with record profits under the new owner.

3

: to make bold and sweeping gestures

transitive verb

: to wield with dramatic gestures : brandish

Dressed as a pirate, he entered the stage flourishing his sword.

flourisher noun

flourish

2 of 2

noun

1

: an act or instance of brandishing or waving

2

a

: a florid bit of speech or writing

rhetorical flourishes

b

: an ornamental stroke in writing or printing

c

: a decorative or finishing detail

a house with clever little flourishes

3

: fanfare

4

a

: a period of thriving

b

: a luxuriant growth or profusion

a flourish of white hair

a springtime flourish of color

5

: showiness in the doing of something

opened the door with a flourish

6

: a sudden burst

a flourish of activity

Synonyms

Verb

• burgeon
• bourgeon
• prosper
• thrive

Choose the Right Synonym for flourish

swing, wave, flourish, brandish, thrash mean to wield or cause to move to and fro or up and down.

swing implies regular or uniform movement.

swing the rope back and forth

wave usually implies smooth or continuous motion.

waving the flag

flourish suggests vigorous, ostentatious, graceful movement.

flourished the winning lottery ticket

brandish implies threatening or menacing motion.

brandishing a knife

thrash suggests vigorous, abrupt, violent movement.

an infant thrashing his arms about

Example Sentences

Verb

plants and animals that flourished here thousands of years ago

Regional markets have flourished in recent years.

a decorative style that flourished in the 1920s

Dressed as a pirate, he entered the stage flourishing his sword.

Noun

the floral flourishes in the living room

a house with many clever little flourishes

Her writing style is simple and clear, without unnecessary flourishes.

Dinner was served with a flourish.

He waved his sword with a flourish.

She opened the door with a flourish.

With a flourish of her pen, she signed the bill into law.

See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Despite a flourishing hip-hop career, Baloji was gradually drawn to cinema. —Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 26 May 2023

His policies eventually brought about a sustained period of economic stability, one that Professor Yavuz said lasted until just a few years ago, when President Recep Tayyip Erdogan retreated from Mr. Dervis’s policies and allowed corruption to flourish. —Neil Genzlinger, New York Times, 11 May 2023

Despite significant development and flourishing suburbs, the county has preserved its rural legacy and robust agricultural foundation. —The Indianapolis Star, 11 May 2023

Each tree house is positioned high enough off the ground to allow the soil and microorganisms below to flourish. —Michelle Gross, Robb Report, 11 May 2023

Decriminalizing these medicines and allowing community healing circles and entheogenic churches to flourish is arguably best for mental health in the long term. —Jeremy Lindenfeld, Rolling Stone, 6 May 2023

Mert Alper Dervis—Anadolu Agency/Getty Images As more than 155,000 civil servants in Canada strike for their right to work from home, among other demands, the fight between workers and employees over the return to the office is still flourishing. —Job Van Der Voort, Fortune, 4 May 2023

By embracing change and remaining adaptable, your company can continue to flourish despite market uncertainty. —Benjie Nunn, Forbes, 4 May 2023

Happy to be out of the limelight, despite being in such close proximity to it, Swanson flourished. —George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Apr. 2023

Noun

Advertisement Musk’s itinerary included all the usual flourishes of China’s hospitality — lavish dinners and meetings with senior officials — as well as a touch more geopolitics than is usual for an executive. —Meaghan Tobin, Washington Post, 1 June 2023

Drummer Luke Perine and bassist Michael Perez forge a rhythm section that consistently lays down danceable punk/hardcore/rock grooves that could be mistaken for everyone from the Clash to Turnstile, and Jay Rogers fills in the middle ground on guitar while adding flourishes of his own. —Josh Chesler, SPIN, 15 May 2023

But what sells it is how Ortega injects her first lead role in a major studio project with personal flourishes that tether Phoebe to a recognizable reality. —Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 10 May 2023

Press this wing stamp onto your outer corners for the perfect curved flourish. —Women's Health, 9 May 2023

And now for a moment of pure, classical watchmaking, a palette cleanser following the flourish of colors and billionaire-bling that dominated some of the spring introductions. —Carol Besler, Robb Report, 24 Apr. 2023

However, the Soviets brought technical flourishes to the concept, including a computerized fly-by-wire flight controls system and both ground-scanning navigation and weather radars. —Sébastien Roblin, Popular Mechanics, 22 Apr. 2023

Advertisement The masterpiece is inextricable from its producer, DJ Quik, who experimented with everything from the Japanese koda to the sitar, capitalizing on Free’s ability to modulate his flow to any orchestral flourish. —Jeff Weiss, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2023

The late-breaking development was revealed not with any great flourishes or hoopla, but with the group’s name simply showing up on the festival schedule when it was released late Wednesday night, tucked in modestly among set times for hundreds of long-since-announced artists. —Chris Willman, Variety, 13 Apr. 2023

See More

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English florisshen "to put forth flowers, bloom, grow luxuriantly, prosper, brandish (a weapon)," borrowed from Anglo-French floriss-, stem of florir, flurir "to bloom, grow abundantly, thrive," going back to Vulgar Latin *flōrīre, restructuring of Latin flōrēscere "to begin to flower, increase in vigor," inchoative derivative of flōrēre "to bloom, prosper, be at the peak of one's powers," stative verbal derivative of flōr-, flōs flower entry 1

Noun

derivative of flourish entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

circa 1552, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

flourish

1 of 2 verb

flour·​ish ˈflər-ish 

ˈflə-rish

1

: to grow well : thrive

2

a

: prosper sense 1, succeed

b

: to be active

flourished around 1850

3

: to make bold sweeping gestures

4

: to shake or wave around

flourish a sword

flourish

2 of 2 noun

1

: a fancy bit of decoration added to something (as handwriting)

2

: a sweeping motion

3

: fanfare

4

: a period of thriving

5

: a sudden burst

a flourish of activity

Etymology

Verb

Middle English florisshen "to flourish, thrive," from early French floriss-, florir (same meaning), derived from Latin florēre "to blossom, flourish," from flor-, flos "a flower, blossom" — related to florid, flour, flower