Flourish

Flourish
Flourish Flour"ish, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Flourished}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Flourishing}.] [OE. florisshen, flurisshen, OF. flurir, F. fleurir, fr. L. florere to bloom, fr. flos, floris, flower. See {Flower}, and {-ish}.] 1. To grow luxuriantly; to increase and enlarge, as a healthy growing plant; a thrive. [1913 Webster]

A tree thrives and flourishes in a kindly . . . soil. --Bp. Horne. [1913 Webster]

2. To be prosperous; to increase in wealth, honor, comfort, happiness, or whatever is desirable; to thrive; to be prominent and influental; specifically, of authors, painters, etc., to be in a state of activity or production. [1913 Webster]

When all the workers of iniquity do flourish. --Ps. xcii 7 [1913 Webster]

Bad men as frequently prosper and flourish, and that by the means of their wickedness. --Nelson. [1913 Webster]

We say Of those that held their heads above the crowd, They flourished then or then. --Tennyson. [1913 Webster]

3. To use florid language; to indulge in rhetorical figures and lofty expressions; to be flowery. [1913 Webster]

They dilate . . . and flourish long on little incidents. --J. Watts. [1913 Webster]

4. To make bold and sweeping, fanciful, or wanton movements, by way of ornament, parade, bravado, etc.; to play with fantastic and irregular motion. [1913 Webster]

Impetuous spread The stream, and smoking flourished o'er his head. --Pope. [1913 Webster]

5. To make ornamental strokes with the pen; to write graceful, decorative figures. [1913 Webster]

6. To execute an irregular or fanciful strain of music, by way of ornament or prelude. [1913 Webster]

Why do the emperor's trumpets flourish thus? --Shak. [1913 Webster]

7. To boast; to vaunt; to brag. --Pope. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Flourish — Flour ish, n.; pl. {Flourishes}. 1. A flourishing condition; prosperity; vigor. [Archaic] [1913 Webster] The Roman monarchy, in her highest flourish, never had the like. Howell. [1913 Webster] 2. Decoration; ornament; beauty. [1913 Webster] The… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • flourish — (v.) c.1300, to blossom, grow, from O.Fr. floriss , stem of florir blossom, flower, bloom, flourish, from L. florere to bloom, blossom, flower, figuratively to flourish, be prosperous, from flos a flower (see FLORA (Cf. flora)). Metaphoric sense… …   Etymology dictionary

  • flourish — [n] curlicue, decoration curl, embellishment, furbelow, garnish, ornamentation, plume, quirk, spiral, sweep, twist; concepts 259,284 flourish [v1] grow, prosper amplify, arrive, augment, batten, bear fruit, be on top of heap*, bloom, blossom,… …   New thesaurus

  • Flourish — Flour ish, v. t. 1. To adorn with flowers orbeautiful figures, either natural or artificial; to ornament with anything showy; to embellish. [Obs.] Fenton. [1913 Webster] 2. To embellish with the flowers of diction; to adorn with rhetorical… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • flourish — flour‧ish [ˈflʌrɪʆ ǁ ˈflɜːr ] verb [intransitive] if a business or industry flourishes, it is very successful and makes a profit: • The economy is booming and many small businesses are flourishing. * * * flourish UK US /ˈflʌrɪʃ/ verb [I] ► to be… …   Financial and business terms

  • flourish — index brandish, display, flaunt, gain, germinate, increase, pretense (ostentation), proliferate …   Law dictionary

  • flourish — vb 1 *succeed, prosper, thrive Analogous words: bloom, flower, *blossom, blow: increase, augment, multiply: *expand, amplify Antonyms: languish Contrasted words: *wither, shrivel: shrink, Contract: ebb, * …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • flourish — ► VERB 1) grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way. 2) be working or at the height of one s career during a specified period. 3) wave about dramatically. ► NOUN 1) a bold or extravagant gesture or action. 2) an ornamental flowing curve in… …   English terms dictionary

  • flourish — [flʉr′ish] vi. [ME florishen < extended stem of OFr florir, to blossom < LL * florire < L florere < flos, FLOWER] 1. Obs. to blossom 2. to grow vigorously; succeed; thrive; prosper 3. to be at the peak of development, activity,… …   English World dictionary

  • flourish — 01. Business has [flourished] since we started advertising on the Internet. 02. Victoria is quickly becoming a [flourishing] center for bicycle tourism. 03. Our roses are really [flourishing] in this nice weather. 04. The actress threw her scarf… …   Grammatical examples in English

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