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Synonyms

flare-up

British  

noun

  1. a sudden burst of fire or light

  2. informal a sudden burst of emotion or violence

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to burst suddenly into fire or light

  2. informal to burst into anger

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
flare up Idioms  

  1. Suddenly become angry, as in She flared up at the slightest provocation. This metaphoric expression, dating from the mid-1800s, transfers a sudden burst of flame to sudden rage.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Others believe it is itself a severe flare-up of eczema, or other specific skin conditions, and are not convinced it exists at all.

From BBC

The S&P 500 is down 3.7% over the same period as Wall Street frets that the Iran war will lead to a flare-up in inflation.

From Barron's

What is unfolding now is not just another geopolitical flare-up that will soon subside.

From MarketWatch

Speaking to the theatrical experience, Spielberg made a brief allusion to the flare-up around comments by Timothée Chalamet regarding the popularity of opera and ballet in relation to the movies.

From Los Angeles Times

The flare-up in tensions in the Middle East “triggered a shift in the oil futures curve, with nearby contracts rising far more than longer-dated ones,” he explained.

From MarketWatch

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.