Flare

How to spell flare

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce flare

What does flare mean?

1. nounA sudden burst of bright, unsteady flame or light, or a device that produces one as a signal.
2. verbTo burn or shine with a sudden unsteady light, or to widen gradually outward.

Flare in a sentence

• noun

  The stranded sailors fired a distress flare into the night sky.

• verb

  The campfire began to flare as the wind picked up.

• noun

  A sudden flare from the gas burner startled the cook.

• verb

  Old injuries can flare again in cold, damp weather.

Where does flare come from?

Language of origin: Unknown

Flare is a relatively young word in English, appearing in the 1500s with the sense of spreading out or waving, as hair might do, and its ultimate origin is genuinely uncertain. By the 1600s it had developed the meaning of burning with a sudden, unsteady, spreading light, which remains its central sense today. Some scholars connect it to a Scandinavian source such as the Norwegian word flara, meaning to blaze or to flaunt, while others treat it as a native English formation with no clear ancestor. From the idea of a flame that widens and waves came the modern noun for a signalling light, and the same notion of spreading outward gave us the tailoring sense of trousers that widen toward the hem. Because it sounds exactly like flair, meaning natural talent or stylish elegance, the two are frequently confused in writing, even though flair entered English much later, directly from French.

How the word is built

• flare (a single root word of uncertain origin meaning to blaze or spread out); no prefix or suffix

Words that sound like flare

They sound the same but mean different things, so the meaning decides which spelling to write.

• flair: A natural aptitude or instinctive talent for doing something well.