flare
Part of speech: verb
Morphological type: simple
Topics: aeronautics
aerospace
aviation
business
engineering
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
Etymology: Origin unknown, first recorded in the mid 16th century, probably related to Latin flagrō (“to burn”). Norwegian flara (“to blaze; to flaunt in gaudy attire”) has a similar meaning, but the English word predates it. Possibly related to Middle High German vlederen (“to flutter”), represented by modern German flattern.
The noun is derived from the verb.
Inflected forms:
form: flares
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: flaring
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: flared
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: flared
pos: verb
tags: past
Senses:
gloss: To cause to burn; in particular, to burn off excess gas.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: Qatar joined the World Bank's Global Gas Flaring Reduction programme in early 2008, indicating its commitment to reducing the process of flaring the gas found with oil deposits.
One time I was working with the Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA) on fueling their fleet, and I was surprised to see them flaring the methane at their wastewater facility.
gloss: To cause inflammation; to inflame.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: Trying to draw a breath flared the pressure on his chest into searing agony.
Adequate rest is incorporated into upper extremity training program so as not to flare the joint.
gloss: To open outward in shape.
pos: verb
tags: ambitransitive
examples: The cat flared its nostrils while sniffing at the air. (transitive)
The cat’s nostrils flared when it sniffed at the air. (intransitive)
The building flared from the third through the seventh floors to occupy the airspace over the entrance plaza. (intransitive)
The sides of a bowl flare. (intransitive)
We claim as our invention—The rigid parts G and H′, and flexible part H with screws I, for forcibly operating when the parts are flared, as represented, and the strap H is drawn obliquely inward or together at the sides, so as to press all the surface of the bent and flared casket end, as herein set forth.
That portion of said wrist eye beyond the pitman forms a cylindrical orifice, e, which, towards its other end, gradually flares outward, as at e′.
Everywhere one sees the blouse, buttoned up the front to the top of a tight collar, which either flares up suddenly under the ears or droops dejectedly to the shoulders.
Damon's nostrils flared, the only sign of anger he showed. The sign of a professional.
gloss: To (operate an aircraft to) transition from downward flight to level flight just before landing.
pos: verb
tags: ambitransitive
examples: After a brief refueling stop in Fairbanks, Billy continued on to the cabin. As he flared the Huey [a helicopter] to land, he could see Moses running out of the cabin to greet him
I had one instructor that called and said he had tried everything to solo his student but the guy just couldn't get the picture of what was expected. One time around the airport the student would flare the airplane twenty feet in the air, and the next time around he would fly the nose into the ground. […] He either flared out very high, or didn't flare out at all.
gloss: To blaze brightly.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: The blast furnace flared in the night.
Thou rear'st thy stately neck, / And, while I list, thou flarest in men's eyes / A gorgeous queen; […]
And when Slaughter and Pillage begin to tire, / High flareth red Fire! / How he roars and hisses and flashes! / His frenzy soon turns / The proud pile to a mass of grey ashes, […]
This phrase was "Flare up!" and it is, even now, a colloquialism in common use. It took its rise in the time of the Reform riots, when Bristol was nearly half burned by the infuriated populace. The flames were said to have flared up in the devoted city.
Now spent night her watchers spareth, / Now the sun's bright banner flareth, / Now morn's gale day's trump is blowing.
On he went a few paces and touched a second, then a third, and a fourth, till at last we were surrounded on all three sides by a great ring of bodies flaring furiously, the material with which they were preserved having rendered them so inflammable that the flames would literally spout out of the ears and mouth in tongues of fire a foot or more in length.
gloss: To shine out with a sudden and unsteady light; to emit a dazzling or painfully bright light.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: The candle flared in a sudden draught.
The substance to which all common flames owe their brightness is finely-divided charcoal. […] Of this formation of charcoal the proof is obvious whenever a candle flares and smokes; for the unburnt charcoal soon collects in the upper part of the flame, and if not removed is apt to fall into the cup of the candle, where it forms a kind of second wick, rapidly melting away the tallow, and disfiguring the candle, […]
gloss: To shine out with gaudy colours; to be offensively bright or showy.
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
intransitive
examples: [B]y a robe of white, the which ſhe weares, / With ribones pendant flaring bout her head, / I ſhalbe ſure to know her, […]
Wealth's golden key displayeth she, / And robes of state she weareth, / And the jewell'd star of high degree, / Fix'd at her bosom flareth.
gloss: To suddenly happen or intensify.
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
intransitive
examples: The genius of the poet [John Keats] flares up, dies out, and flares again, as if there were a dearth of fuel to feed it; and by this fault, more than any other, he is removed out of the class of great poets, and occupies but the second rank.
gloss: To suddenly erupt in anger.
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
intransitive
examples: [H]e flared up very much when I told him I could not give him the schedule.
One of the most heated periods occurred in 1965 when the Forest Service decided forest lands could no longer tolerate unrestricted grazing by livestock, especially hogs. […] Notice went out to local residents, and the following year, 1966, Forest Service personnel began trapping hogs grazing in trespass. Both hog owners and cattlemen were angry. Tempers flared, and so did the fires. The number of incendiary fires increased and it seems reasonable to assume some relationship between the two events.
gloss: To be exposed to too much light.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
obsolete
examples: […] I [Satan] cannot ſtay / Flaring in ſun-ſhine all the day: / For, entre nous, we helliſh ſprites, / Love more the freſco of the nights; […]
Derived words: outflare
upflare
aflare
flarability
flarable
flareability
flareable
flare out
flarer
flare up
nonflared
unflared
Translations: