1. Burn brightly
   "Every star seemed to flare with new intensity";
   - flame up, blaze up, burn up
    
2. Shine with a sudden light
   "The night sky flared with the massive bombardment";
   - flame
    
3. Erupt or intensify suddenly
   "Tempers flared at the meeting"; "Unrest flared up in the country";
   - erupt, irrupt, flare up, break open, burst out
    
4. Become flared and widen, usually at one end
   "The bellbottom pants flare out";
   - flare out

1. A sudden burst of flame
   "The flare from the gas stove startled her as she turned it on"
    
2. A burst of light used to communicate or illuminate
   "The lost hikers set off a flare to signal their location";
   - flash
    
3. A device that produces a bright light for warning, illumination or identification
   "The stranded hikers lit a flare to signal their location to rescuers"
    
4. A sudden eruption of intense high-energy radiation from the sun's surface; associated with sunspots and radio interference
   "The solar flare disrupted satellite communications";
   - solar flare
    
5. A sudden recurrence or worsening of symptoms
   "a colitis flare"; "infection can cause a lupus flare"
    
6. A shape that spreads outward
   "the skirt had a wide flare";
   - flair [non-standard]
    
7. Reddening of the skin spreading outward from a focus of infection or irritation
   "The insect bite caused a noticeable flare on her arm"
    
8. A sudden outburst of emotion
   "she felt a flare of delight"; "she could not control her flare of rage"
    
9. An unwanted reflection in an optical system (or the fogging of an image that is caused by such a reflection)
   "The photographer used a lens hood to reduce flare in the bright sunlight"
    
10. 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";
    - flare pass
     
11. (baseball) a fly ball hit a short distance into the outfield
    "The batter hit a flare just over the infielder's head"

Sounds like: fizz, plare, f

Derived forms: flared, flares, flaring

See also: blaze

Type of: aerial, attack, beam, blowup [informal], blow-up [informal], burn, combust, deepen, device, ebullition, effusion, erythroderma, fire, flame, flaming, fly, fly ball, form, forward pass, gush, intensify, outburst, reflection, reflexion [Brit], shape, shine, solar radiation, visual signal, widen

Encyclopedia: Flare