Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A sudden outbreak of flame or light.
  • noun An outburst or eruption.
  • noun A recurrence, especially of a disease or condition.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A sudden flashing or flaring of flame or light.
  • noun A sudden quarrel or angry argument.
  • noun Nautical, a distinguishing light exhibited as a signal by a pilot vessel, or a signal flare to a vessel which is overtaking another vessel, used as a warning to the ship coming up from astern.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun colloq. A sudden burst of anger or passion; an angry dispute.
  • noun A sudden bursting into flame; a flaring.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A sudden outbreak, outburst or eruption (originally of flame, but now used more generally of any violent activity)
  • noun A sudden intensification in activity

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a sudden intense happening
  • verb ignite quickly and suddenly, especially after having died down
  • verb erupt or intensify suddenly

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

flare +‎ up

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Examples

  • Her trip was a week after a major flare-up/attack, so I informed her about things and left the decision up to her.

    Road Trip From Mazamitla to Patzcuaro 2009

  • The flare-up began with a bid last week by Sunni leaders in Diyala province to win more autonomy from Baghdad through a referendum.

    Sectarian Feud Roils Post-U.S. Iraq Sam Dagher 2011

  • U.S. government securities have generally tracked the price of oil since the flare-up in Libya, traders said.

    Safe-Haven Treasurys to Stay Bid on Oil Threat Bradley Davis 2011

  • The Egyptian diplomacy was aimed at ending the worst flare-up across the Israel-Gaza border since April.

    Israel and Hamas in Cease-Fire Deal Joshua Mitnick 2011

  • The flare-up underscores how any progress in talks over the North's nuclear program could be derailed by armed confrontation.

    South Korea Returns Fire at North Alastair Gale 2011

  • TOKYO — Japan, which is embroiled in a thorny territorial spat with China, may be facing the flare-up of a long-simmering dispute with another neighbor and former military foe: Russia.

    Japan Confronts Russia in Island Dispute Yuka Hayashi 2010

  • The student had sought me out to ask whether, as the Martin Peretz Professor of Yiddish Literature, I might offer an opinion on the flare-up.

    At Harvard, Groupthink About Islam Ruth R. Wisse 2010

  • The episode is the latest flare-up of tension between the companies over issues including Yahoo's unwillingness to sell back its stake to Alibaba Group and Yahoo's frustration over the management of its brand in China.

    Yahoo Expanding R&D in China Loretta Chao 2011

  • Another minicrisis, such as a repeat of the spring's flare-up of sovereign-debt worries in Europe, also could cause corporate bonds to suffer.

    As Bond Market Rallies On, Risks Lurk Beneath Surface Mark Gongloff 2010

  • The flare-up comes amid incremental progress in dialogue between the Koreas and between Pyongyang and the U.S. over North Korea's nuclear program.

    South Korea Returns Fire at North Alastair Gale 2011

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