to burn with an unsteady, swaying flame, as a torch or candle in the wind.

to blaze with a sudden burst of flame (often fol. by up )

The fire flared up as the paper caught.

to start up or burst out in sudden, fierce activity, passion, etc. (often fol. by up or out )

Tempers flared at the meeting. Violence flared up in a new section of the city.

to shine or glow.

to spread gradually outward, as the end of a trumpet, the bottom of a wide skirt, or the sides of a ship.

to cause (a candle, torch, etc.) to burn with a swaying flame.

to display conspicuously or ostentatiously.

to signal by flares of fire or light.

to cause (something) to spread gradually outward in form.

Metallurgy . to heat (a high-zinc brass) to such a high temperature that the zinc vapors begin to burn.

to discharge and burn (excess gas) at a well or refinery.

a flaring or swaying flame or light, as of torches in the wind.

a sudden blaze or burst of flame.

a bright blaze of fire or light used as a signal, a means of illumination or guidance, etc.

a device or substance used to produce such a blaze of fire or light.

a sudden burst, as of zeal or of anger.

a gradual spread outward in form; outward curvature

the flare of a skirt.

something that spreads out.

Optics . unwanted light reaching the image plane of an optical instrument, resulting from extraneous reflections, scattering by lenses, and the like.

Photography . a fogged appearance given to an image by reflection within a camera lens or within the camera itself.

Also called solar flare. Astronomy . a sudden and brief brightening of the solar atmosphere in the vicinity of a sunspot that results from an explosive release of particles and radiation.

Football . a short pass thrown to a back who is running toward a sideline and is not beyond the line of scrimmage.

Television . a dark area on a picture tube caused by variations in light intensity. ?

flare out or up, to become suddenly enraged

She flares up easily.

verb

flare