flare (n.)

  1. a shape that spreads outward; the skirt had a wide flare

    [ Syn: flair ]

  2. 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

    [ Syn: flare pass ]

  3. (baseball) a fly ball hit a short distance into the outfield

  4. a sudden burst of flame

  5. a burst of light used to communicate or illuminate

    [ Syn: flash ]

  6. reddening of the skin spreading outward from a focus of infection or irritation

  7. a sudden recurrence or worsening of symptoms; a colitis flare; infection can cause a lupus flare'

  8. a sudden eruption of intense high-energy radiation from the suns surface; associated with sunspots and radio interference

    [ Syn: solar flare ]

  9. am unwanted reflection in an optical system (or the fogging of an image that is caused by such a reflection)

  10. a sudden outburst of emotion; she felt a flare of delight; she could not control her flare of rage'

  11. a device that produces a bright light for warning or illumination or identification

    flare (v.)

  1. burn brightly; Every star seemed to flare with new intensity

    [ Syn: flame up , blaze up , burn up ]

  2. become flared and widen, usually at one end; The bellbottom pants flare out

    [ Syn: flare out ]

  3. shine with a sudden light; The night sky flared with the massive bombardment

    [ Syn: flame ]

  4. erupt or intensify suddenly; Unrest erupted in the country; Tempers flared at the meeting; The crowd irrupted into a burst of patriotism

    [ Syn: erupt , irrupt , flare up , break open , burst out ]

The dictionary is based on the WordNet Electronic Lexical Database.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2011 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.