Flare \Flare\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Flared; p. pr. & vb. n. Flaring.]

[Cf. Norw. flara to blaze, flame, adorn with tinsel, dial. Sw. flasa upp, and E. flash, or flacker.]

1. To burn with an unsteady or waving flame; as, the candle flares.

2. To shine out with a sudden and unsteady light; to emit a dazzling or painfully bright light.

3. To shine out with gaudy colors; to flaunt; to be offensively bright or showy.

With ribbons pendant, flaring about her head. --Shak.

4. To be exposed to too much light. [Obs.]

Flaring in sunshine all the day. --Prior.

5. To open or spread outwards; to project beyond the perpendicular; as, the sides of a bowl flare; the bows of a ship flare.

To flare up, to become suddenly heated or excited; to burst into a passion. [Colloq.]

--Thackeray.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)