to flare in
- phrasal verb
- Walker looked at him sharply, anger and mistrust flaring in his dark eyes.
- anger flared in
- tensions flared in
- flared in her eyes
Examples
-
"There was a brief silence before color flared in Jinx's cheeks.
Fiction book (1996) -
Anger flared in Regan as pain darted through her body.
Fiction book (1993) -
"Why should Tony have all the fun?" Something flared in Grice's eyes.
Fiction book (2001) -
Anger flared in Humphries' eyes.
Fiction book (2001) -
A stubborn ember of hope flared in Linna's mind.
Fiction book (2000) -
And separatist violence continued to flare in the restive Balochistan province.
Blog text (26) -
In Siler City, North Carolina, a small town of about 5,000 west of Raleigh, similar anti-immigrant sentiment flared in 2000.
Academic text (2003) -
Throughout the 1990s, language debates flared in Alabama over such issues as Spanish-language driver tests and homestead tax exemptions for non-English speakers.
Academic text (2003) -
"A heated argument caused tempers to flare in the crowded room."
-
"As soon as the music started, excitement flared in the audience."
Synonyms
To start suddenly, often with something dangerous like a fire or disease
To suddenly start in a strong or violent way, often showing strong feeling
To become suddenly more intense, often about anger or violence
To rise suddenly and sharply
To become suddenly stronger or worse, often for a short time
Suddenly start to happen with a lot of energy
Start suddenly and appear or happen quickly
To suddenly start burning strongly or become much more intense
Antonyms
How Intense
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb 'flare' already conveys rapid intensification and the preposition 'in' merely localizes that change (e.g. 'in the dark'), so the combined meaning is directly derivable from the parts. This follows a standard verb+preposition compositional pattern and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Flare in creates the image of a sudden bright burst (flare) appearing in a quiet place, like a single flame lighting up a dark room. So it now means 'to become suddenly stronger or more noticeable'.