flare

Plural: flares

Noun

• a shape that spreads outward
  • "the skirt had a wide flare"
• a sudden burst of flame
• a burst of light used to communicate or illuminate
• reddening of the skin spreading outward from a focus of infection or irritation
• a sudden recurrence or worsening of symptoms
  • "a colitis flare"
  • "infection can cause a lupus flare"
• a sudden eruption of intense high-energy radiation from the sun's surface; associated with sunspots and radio interference
• am unwanted reflection in an optical system (or the fogging of an image that is caused by such a reflection)
• a sudden outburst of emotion
  • "she felt a flare of delight"
  • "she could not control her flare of rage"
• a device that produces a bright light for warning or illumination or identification
• a short forward pass to a back who is running toward the sidelines
  • "he threw a flare to the fullback who was tackled for a loss"
• (baseball) a fly ball hit a short distance into the outfield
• A sudden bright light.
• A source of brightly burning light or intense heat.
• A type of pyrotechnic that produces a brilliant light without an explosion, used to attract attention in an emergency, to illuminate an area, or as a decoy.
• A source of brightly burning light or intense heat.
• A flame produced by a burn-off of waste gas (flare gas) from a flare tower (or flare stack), typically at an oil refinery.
• A source of brightly burning light or intense heat.
• A sudden eruption or outbreak; a flare-up.
• A widening of an object with an otherwise roughly constant width.
• A widening of an object with an otherwise roughly constant width.
• The increase in width of most ship hulls with increasing height above the waterline.
• Bell-bottom trousers.
• The transition from downward flight to level flight just before landing.
• A low fly ball that is hit in the region between the infielders and the outfielders.
• A route run by the running back, releasing toward the sideline and then slightly arcing upfield looking for a short pass.
• Ellipsis of lens flare.
• An inflammation such as of tendons (tendonitis) or joints (osteoarthritis).
• A breakdance move of someone helicoptering his torso on alternating arms.

Verb

• burn brightly
  • "Every star seemed to flare with new intensity"
• become flared and widen, usually at one end
  • "The bellbottom pants flare out"
• shine with a sudden light
  • "The night sky flared with the massive bombardment"
• erupt or intensify suddenly
  • "Tempers flared at the meeting"
• To cause to burn; in particular, to burn off excess gas.
• To cause inflammation; to inflame.
• To open outward in shape.
• To (operate an aircraft to) transition from downward flight to level flight just before landing.
• To blaze brightly.
• To shine out with a sudden and unsteady light; to emit a dazzling or painfully bright light.
• To shine out with gaudy colours; to be offensively bright or showy.
• To suddenly happen or intensify.
• To suddenly erupt in anger.
• To be exposed to too much light.
• FLARED FLARING, FLARES to burn with a bright, wavering light

Examples

• "During assembly of a flare tube fitting, a flare nut is used to secure the flared tubing’s tapered end to the also tapered fitting, producing a pressure-resistant, leak-tight seal."
• "Flares were used to steer the traffic away from the accident."
• "Jones hits a little flare to left that falls for a single."
• "solar flare"
• "That's a genuine early 70's flare on those pants."
• "The blast furnace flared in the night."
• "The building flared from the third through the seventh floors to occupy the airspace over the entrance plaza. (intransitive)"
• "The candle flared in a sudden draught."
• "The captain executed the flare perfectly, and we lightly touched down."
• "The cat flared its nostrils while sniffing at the air. (transitive)"
• "The cat’s nostrils flared when it sniffed at the air. (intransitive)"
• "The flares attracted the heat-seeking missiles."
• "The sides of a bowl flare. (intransitive)"

Synonyms

blaze up, break open, burn up, burst out, erupt, flair, flame, flame up, flare out, flare pass, flare up, flash, irrupt, solar flare, Texas leaguer, blooper, flare-up

Antonyms

tumblehome