flare

1 a sudden and usually temporary growth of activity a flare in antacid sales around the holidays Synonyms burst, outbreak, flare-up, flash, flicker, flurry, flutter, outburst, spurtRelated Words recrudescence, recurrence, renewal; binge, jag, spree; boost, increase, pickup, upswing, upturn; epidemic, eruption, explosion, paroxysm; deluge, flood, rush, spate, surge, volley; commotion, furor, uproarNear 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, outburst, flare-up, flash, flush, gale, gush, gust, paroxysm, spasm, stormRelated 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, light, fluorescence, glare, gleam, glow, illumination, incandescence, luminescence, radiance, shineRelated 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, sheenNear Antonyms blackness, dark, darkness, dimness, dusk, duskiness, gloom, night, shadow

to shine with a bright harsh light floodlights flaring into the forbidding empty spaces surrounding the prison Synonyms beat, blaze, burn, flame, glareRelated Words beam, glow, radiate; flash, glance, gleam, glimmer, glint, glisten, glister, glitter, scintillate, shimmer, sparkle, twinkle; bedazzle, blind, daze, dazzle