Flare

verb

flɜr

Noun

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”
Type of:Aerial
a shape that spreads outward
“the skirt had a wide flare”
Similar:Flair
Type of:ShapeForm
a sudden outburst of emotion
“she felt a flare of delight”
“she could not control her flare of rage”
Type of:BlowupGushOutburst
a sudden recurrence or worsening of symptoms
“a colitis flare”
“infection can cause a lupus flare”
Type of:Attack
a burst of light used to communicate or illuminate
Similar:Flash
a sudden eruption of intense high-energy radiation from the sun's surface; associated with sunspots and radio interference
a device that produces a bright light for warning or illumination or identification
Type of:Device
am unwanted reflection in an optical system (or the fogging of an image that is caused by such a reflection)
Type of:ReflexionReflection
a sudden burst of flame
Type of:FireFlamingFlame
(baseball) a fly ball hit a short distance into the outfield
Type of:Fly
reddening of the skin spreading outward from a focus of infection or irritation
Type of:Erythroderma

erupt or intensify suddenly
“Tempers flared at the meeting”
Similar:EruptIrrupt
Type of:DeepenIntensify
burn brightly
“Every star seemed to flare with new intensity”
Type of:CombustBurn
shine with a sudden light
“The night sky flared with the massive bombardment”
Similar:Flame
Type of:BeamShine
become flared and widen, usually at one end
“The bellbottom pants flare out”
Type of:Widen

Peak usage: 1960s

Source: Google Books Ngram Viewer (1800–2019)