flares (up)

verb

present tense third-person singular of flare (up)
1
as in angers
to become very angry naturally I flared up when he insulted me

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in erupts
to develop suddenly and violently my allergies always flare up in the spring

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for flares (up)
  1. angers
  2. erupts
  3. snarls
  4. explodes
  5. snaps
  6. breaks out
  7. glares
  8. blows up
Verb
  • The receptionist angers Kripke and Bert so much that they are picked up by the police — along with Stuart, who had also been arrested.
    — Michael Schneider, Variety, 31 July 2026
  • According to the myth, Agamemnon angers the goddess Artemis by killing one of her sacred deer.
    — Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 20 July 2026
Definition of angers
Verb
  • Gunfire erupts following victory celebration Prosecutors have alleged that an argument between two groups escalated into gunfire in the crowded celebration.
    — Jack Harvel, Kansas City Star, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Social media erupts over cancellation, pleads to Mamdani Since the cancellation was announced, social media was inundated with posts in support of the show, with some even reaching out to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to intervene and save it.
    — Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of erupts
Verb
  • Day to day, as the city grows, there’s also the question of traffic, which snarls the city as public transit initiatives have repeatedly struggled.
    — Jacqui Palumbo, CNN Money, 21 July 2026
  • Security snarls The TSA PreCheck line at terminal B in LaGuardia Airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, on March 27, 2026.
    — Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 28 Mar. 2026
Definition of snarls
Verb
  • In Copperhead, when an undercover drug deal explodes into violence, a veteran detective is forced to team with a young federal agent to unravel the conspiracy within their elite task force.
    — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 31 Aug. 2026
  • That explodes into action in one startlingly seedy scene involving a rape in full view of revelers at a hotel party.
    — Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of explodes
Verb
  • The 5-10, 211-pound tailback played in five games last season but didn’t play an offensive snap, logging 22 special teams snaps in those appearances.
    — David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Rodriguez snaps a picture, the flash lighting up Bernie’s dark eyes.
    — Olivia Wakim, AJC.com, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of snaps
Verb
  • EconomyBookings, for example, breaks out what a rate covers at checkout, identifies whether a pickup point sits in the terminal or off-site, and states cancellation terms on eligible bookings.
    — Matthew Kayser, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Offense breaks out, Twins rout Athletics Ryan Kreidler created a memory for his friends and family, and the Twins followed suit.
    — Dan Hayes, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of breaks out
Verb
  • My eleven-year-old self rolls her eyes, glares at my thirty-six-year-old body, and silently calls me fat.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Nov. 2025
Definition of glares
Verb
  • The person who blows up at a subordinate under stress has usually been subtly condescending in one-on-ones for months.
    — Mary Crossan, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Frequent zoom-ins shown on screens showed sweat dripping down his face, and his hair resembled something similar to a mad scientist after an experiment blows up in their face.
    — Joseph Hernandez August 13, Kansas City Star, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of blows up
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

flares (out)
flares (up)
flare (up)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Flares (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flares%20%28up%29. Accessed 3 Sep. 2026.

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