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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

flourish

/ˈflʌɹ.ɪʃ/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 1:03
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What does flourish mean?

verb

  1. To thrive or grow well.
  2. To prosper or fare well.
  3. To be in a period of greatest influence.
More meanings (14)

verb

  1. To develop; to make thrive; to expand.
  2. To make bold, sweeping movements with.
  3. To make bold and sweeping, fanciful, or wanton movements, by way of ornament, parade, bravado, etc.; to play with fantastic and irregular motion.
  4. To use florid language; to indulge in rhetorical figures and lofty expressions.
  5. To make ornamental strokes with the pen; to write graceful, decorative figures.
  6. To adorn with beautiful figures or rhetoric; to ornament with anything showy; to embellish.
  7. To execute an irregular or fanciful strain of music, by way of ornament or prelude.
  8. To be known to have been alive at a particular time or in a particular period, where one's birth and death dates are not known; to have been active during a specified period; floruit.
  9. (obsolete) To boast; to vaunt; to brag.
  10. (archaic) To brandish (a weapon).

noun

  1. A dramatic gesture such as the waving of a flag.
  2. An ornamentation.
  3. A ceremonious passage such as a fanfare.
  4. A decorative embellishment on a building.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˈflʌɹ.ɪʃ/

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Other dictionary pronunciations

/ˈflɝ.ɪʃ//ˈflʊ̈ɹ.ɪʃ/
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

To which the more humble spectators added their acclamations, and a numerous band of trumpeters the flourish of their martial instruments.
Walter ScottIvanhoe: A RomanceProject Gutenberg ebook #82
Every institution will grow and flourish in proportion to the quantity and extent of the means concentred towards its formation and support.
Alexander Hamilton; John Jay; James MadisonThe Federalist PapersProject Gutenberg ebook #18
More book examples (3)
To hear them singing as they fly, you will be very happy in a new change of abode, and business will flourish.
Gustavus Hindman MillerTen Thousand Dreams Interpreted; Or, What's in a Dream A Scientific and Practical ExpositionProject Gutenberg ebook #926
They have no love for the limelight, and would be distinctly annoyed should their advent be heralded with a flourish of trumpets.
Frederic, Lord HamiltonHere, There and EverywhereProject Gutenberg ebook #6368
The only surgeon was one who combined the occasional exercise of that noble art with the daily and habitual flourish of a razor.
Nathaniel HawthorneThe Scarlet LetterProject Gutenberg ebook #33