2 meanings
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1 —as in:
the business is flourishing
Definition
to thrive (grow or develop well)- The business flourished from day one.
flourished = grew or developed well
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- The children are flourishing.
- The garden flourishes in the spring.
- The vampire live on, and cannot die by mere passing of the time, he can flourish when that he can fatten on the blood of the living.Bram Stoker -- Dracula
- He lived and flourished in such moments.John Knowles -- A Separate Peace
- It was the type that seemed to flourish best under the dominion of the Party.George Orwell -- 1984
- A century after Franklin's death, the eminent explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson pointed out that the English explorer had never taken the trouble to learn the survival skills practiced by the Indians and the Eskimos, peoples who had managed to flourish "for generations, bringing up their children and taking care of their aged" in the same harsh country that killed Franklin.Jon Krakauer -- Into the Wild
- otherwise a seducer flourishes, and a poor maid is undone.William Shakespeare -- All's Well That Ends Well
- He laughed a little the other day, and said I seemed to be flourishing in spite of my wall-paper.Charlotte Perkins Gilman -- The Yellow Wallpaper
- many flourishing potted plantsJ.K. Rowling -- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
flourishing = growing or developing well
flourish = thrive (grow or develop well)
flourished = thrived
flourish = thrive (grow or develop well)
flourish = thrive (grow or develop well)
flourishes = thrives (does well)
flourishing = growing or developing well
flourishing = thriving (growing well)
2 —as in:
dismissed them with a flourish
Definition
a showy gestureor:
the act of waving — a hand or an item
- She entered with a great flourish.
flourish = showy gesture
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- He bowed to her with a flourish.
- Seized with an immediate desire to reveal himself, Harry pulled off the cloak with a flourish.J.K. Rowling -- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Flourish of cornets.William Shakespeare -- The Merchant of Venice
- He unpacks the embroidered handbag, and some good sausages come to light; Lewandowski takes up the knife with a flourish and saws the meat into slices.Erich Maria Remarque -- All Quiet on the Western Front
- I thought it must be some kind of culminating prank, the senior class leaving Devon with a flourish.John Knowles -- A Separate Peace
- Now, it plunged the book back under his arm, pressed it tight to sweating armpit, rushed out empty, with a magician's flourish!Ray Bradbury -- Fahrenheit 451
- Its voice was thin, needle-sharp and insistent; The three boys rushed forward and Jack drew his knife again with a flourish.William Golding -- Lord of the Flies
- He swung his arm out with a flourish.David Almond -- Kit's Wilderness
- [A crowd of people in the street leading to the Capitol, among them Artemidorus and the Soothsayer. Flourish. Enter Caesar, Brutus, ..., and others.]William Shakespeare -- Julius Caesar
flourish = showy gesture
flourish = a showy gesture
flourish = a showy gesture
flourish = showy gesture
flourish = showy gesture
flourish = showy gesture
flourish = showy gesture
flourish = a showy gesture
flourish = fanfare played by trumpets to announce the entry or exit of royalty
Less commonly:
In Shakespeare's plays, flourish is often used as a stage direction indicating a specific type of showy gesture: fanfare played by trumpets or other horns to announce the entry or exit of royalty.