Flare /(flâr)/

Flare

v. i.

imp. & p. p. Flared; p. pr. & vb. n. Flaring

  1. To burn with an unsteady or waving flame; as, the candle flares.
  2. To shine out with a sudden and unsteady light; to emit a dazzling or painfully bright light.
  3. To shine out with gaudy colors; to flaunt; to be offensively bright or showy.
    With ribbons pendant, flaring about her head.
  4. To be exposed to too much light. [Obs.]
    Flaring in sunshine all the day.
  5. To open or spread outwards; to project beyond the perpendicular; as, the sides of a bowl flare; the bows of a ship flare.

Phrases & Compounds

To flare up
to become suddenly heated or excited; to burst into a passion.

Flare

n.
  1. An unsteady, broad, offensive light.
  2. A spreading outward; as, the flare of a fireplace.
  3. A defect in a photographic objective such that an image of the stop, or diaphragm, appears as a fogged spot in the center of the developed negative. (Photog.)

Flare

n.
  1. Leaf of lard.