1
as in flurries
a sudden and usually temporary growth of activity
took medication to prevent a flare-up of her asthma
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in explosions
a sudden intense expression of strong feeling
there's no need for an angry flare-up, as we'll take care of the problem immediately
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of flare-ups
The popular China internet fund, the KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF (KWEB), is down more than 40% from its record in October amid ongoing concerns over AI valuations and trade ware flare-ups.
—
Oliver Renick,
CNBC,
1 July 2026
Lymph nodes cluster heavily in this area, and poor circulation through them can produce acne along the jaw and neck, dry or flaky skin, eczema flare-ups or unexplained rashes.
—
Allison Palmer,
Kansas City Star,
29 June 2026
Poor circulation there may also show up as dry or flaky skin, eczema flare-ups or unexplained rashes.
—
Allison Palmer,
Charlotte Observer,
29 June 2026
Washington and Tehran differ over whether Iran has a say in which vessels can cross the crucial waterway and when, leading to flare-ups.
—
Victoria Craw,
Washington Post,
27 June 2026
The multiday effort has been full of challenges for firefighters, with fiery flare-ups shooting up from the building whose roof is covered with solar panels.
—
Arkansas Online,
21 June 2026
The declaration activates additional city resources and seeks state support as firefighters continue battling flare-ups and lingering smoke from the blaze.
—
James Ward,
USA Today,
20 June 2026
The multiday effort has been full of challenges for firefighters with fiery flare-ups.
—
Los Angeles Times,
20 June 2026
This has raised the risk of fires incurring heavy financial costs, and that of flare-ups engulfing people’s livelihoods.
—
Tristan Bove,
Fortune,
1 June 2026
Oliver Renick,
CNBC,
1 July 2026
Lymph nodes cluster heavily in this area, and poor circulation through them can produce acne along the jaw and neck, dry or flaky skin, eczema flare-ups or unexplained rashes.
—
Allison Palmer,
Kansas City Star,
29 June 2026
Poor circulation there may also show up as dry or flaky skin, eczema flare-ups or unexplained rashes.
—
Allison Palmer,
Charlotte Observer,
29 June 2026
Washington and Tehran differ over whether Iran has a say in which vessels can cross the crucial waterway and when, leading to flare-ups.
—
Victoria Craw,
Washington Post,
27 June 2026
The multiday effort has been full of challenges for firefighters, with fiery flare-ups shooting up from the building whose roof is covered with solar panels.
—
Arkansas Online,
21 June 2026
The declaration activates additional city resources and seeks state support as firefighters continue battling flare-ups and lingering smoke from the blaze.
—
James Ward,
USA Today,
20 June 2026
The multiday effort has been full of challenges for firefighters with fiery flare-ups.
—
Los Angeles Times,
20 June 2026
This has raised the risk of fires incurring heavy financial costs, and that of flare-ups engulfing people’s livelihoods.
—
Tristan Bove,
Fortune,
1 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flare-ups
Noun
-
There is even a remote possibility for a few flurries in the highest peaks of the Sierra on Saturday and Sunday nights with temps briefly below freezing.
-
Even then, there are flurries of intense activity.
Noun
-
Multiple explosions were heard in Kyiv, a Reuters witness said.
-
Instead of focusing narrowly on one object at a time, the observatory will sweep across huge areas of sky, building an archive of stars, galaxies, asteroids and cosmic explosions.
Noun
-
Recurring outbreaks were common in places where sanitation was poor, historians confirm.
-
While norovirus is frequently associated with cruise ships, those instances account for just 1% of all outbreaks reported.
Noun
-
Public outbursts remain relatively uncommon, making this week's intervention particularly revealing.
-
There have been intermittent outbursts of violence against immigrants since then.
Noun
-
From Friday to Sunday, singers and alphorn players filled the streets and spontaneous bursts of yodeling echoed through restaurants, where diners initially reacted with surprise before joining in.
-
San Francisco real estate agent Butch Haze of Compass has seen tech booms followed by ravenous bursts of homebuying since the first internet gold rush of the late 1990s.
Noun
-
Several of these eruptions were accompanied by coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that appear to be at least partially Earth-directed.
-
The most powerful solar flares are X-class solar flares, and forecasters at NOAA observed one of these eruptions on Tuesday.
Noun
-
The sun attained solar maximum in 2024, releasing intense flares and coronal mass ejections that caused Earth’s atmosphere to expand, which only intensified the drag on Swift, according to NASA.
-
They are ranked using five classes — A, B, C, M and X — with X-class flares representing the most powerful eruptions.
Noun
-
Morel’s career arc had previously included flashes of legitimate middle-order production.
-
Swift was originally designed to study a rare type of transient called gamma-ray bursts—seconds-long flashes of gamma-ray light that arise from the most energetic explosions in the universe.
Cite this Entry
“Flare-ups.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flare-ups. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
