flourish

[flur-ish, fluhr-] /ˈflɜr ɪʃ, ˈflʌr-/
verb (used without object)
1.
to be in a vigorous state; thrive:
a period in which art flourished.
2.
to be in its or in one's prime; be at the height of fame, excellence, influence, etc.
3.
to be successful; prosper.
4.
to grow luxuriantly, or thrive in growth, as a plant.
5.
to make dramatic, sweeping gestures:
Flourish more when you act out the king's great death scene.
6.
to add embellishments and ornamental lines to writing, letters, etc.
7.
to sound a trumpet call or fanfare.
verb (used with object)
8.
to brandish dramatically; gesticulate with:
a conductor flourishing his baton for the crescendo.
9.
to decorate or embellish (writing, a page of script, etc.) with sweeping or fanciful curves or lines.
noun
10.
an act or instance of brandishing.
11.
an ostentatious display.
12.
a decoration or embellishment, especially in writing:
He added a few flourishes to his signature.
13.
Rhetoric. a parade of fine language; an expression used merely for effect.
14.
a trumpet call or fanfare.
15.
a condition or period of thriving:
in full flourish.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English florisshen < Middle French floriss-, long stem of florir ≪ Latin flōrēre to bloom, derivative of flōs flower
Related forms
flourisher, noun
outflourish, verb (used with object)
Synonyms
1. grow, increase. See succeed. 9. ornament. 12. ornament, adornment.
Antonyms
1. fade, decline.
Examples from the web for flourish
  • Streams allowed certain mountain plants to grow and flourish.
  • The arts are a latter-day human characteristic, one that requires a certain amount of security and stability to flourish.
  • They will have proven it possible to flourish through the active repression of free expression.
  • Mandel seemed to flourish in an atmosphere that permitted a certain kind of abandon but didn't demand much in return.
  • The only surgeon was one who combined the occasional exercise of that noble art with the daily and habitual flourish of a razor.
  • But when commerce and manufactures begin to flourish, a great change takes place.
  • Thus doing, your name shall flourish in the printers' shops.
  • Birds, however, often flourish in geopolitical conflict zones.
  • Without being challenged as kids, our immune systems don't flourish.
  • If neglected, orchid children promptly wither-but if they are nurtured, they not only survive but flourish.
British Dictionary definitions for flourish

flourish

/ˈflʌrɪʃ/
verb
1.
(intransitive) to thrive; prosper
2.
(intransitive) to be at the peak of condition
3.
(intransitive) to be healthy: plants flourish in the light
4.
to wave or cause to wave in the air with sweeping strokes
5.
to display or make a display
6.
to play (a fanfare, etc) on a musical instrument
7.
(intransitive) to embellish writing, characters, etc, with ornamental strokes
8.
to add decorations or embellishments to (speech or writing)
9.
(intransitive) an obsolete word for blossom
noun
10.
the act of waving or brandishing
11.
a showy gesture: he entered with a flourish
12.
an ornamental embellishment in writing
13.
a display of ornamental language or speech
14.
a grandiose passage of music
15.
an ostentatious display or parade
16.
(obsolete)
  1. the state of flourishing
  2. the state of flowering
Derived Forms
flourisher, noun
Word Origin
C13: from Old French florir, ultimately from Latin flōrēre to flower, from flōs a flower
Word Origin and History for flourish
v.

c.1300, "to blossom, grow," from Old French floriss-, stem of florir "blossom, flower, bloom, flourish," from Latin florere "to bloom, blossom, flower," figuratively "to flourish, be prosperous," from flos "a flower" (see flora).

Metaphoric sense of "thrive" is mid-14c. Meaning "to brandish (a weapon)" first attested late 14c. Related: Flourished; flourishing.

n.

c.1500, "a blossom," from flourish (v.). Meaning "ostentatious waving of a weapon" is from 1550s; that of "literary or rhetorical embellishment" is from c.1600.