Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Flare-up \Flare"-up`\, n.
A sudden burst of anger or passion; an angry dispute.
A sudden bursting into flame; a flaring.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
"a sudden burst," 1827 of an argument; 1858 of light, from verbal phrase; see flare (v.) + up (adv.). It seems to have had some vogue as a street expression in London in the 1830s.\n\nFlare up! flare up! is all the cry, in every square and street
--\n
No other sound salutes your ear, whoe'er you chance to meet\n
Where'er you ride, or walk, or sit, or breakfast, dine, or sup,\n
They welcome you or quiz you with "Flare up, my boy! flare up!"\n
[Fraser's Magazine," April 1834] \n\n
Wiktionary
n. 1 A sudden outbreak, outburst or eruption (originally of flame, but now used more generally of any violent activity) 2 A sudden intensification in activity
WordNet
Usage examples of "flare-up".
The flare-up with Grumman was only one manifestation of unrest throughout the realm, as were the constant gestures of defiance, vandalism, and defacings of Corrino monuments.
The flare-up with Grumman was only one manifestation of unrest throughout the realm, as were the constant gestures of defiance, vandalism, and defacings of Corrino monuments.
He had sulked for a while after Ralph spiked his vision of wallowing in pure London Merck for the rest of the day, but he accepted it as just another one of those illogical flare-ups that come with the territory.
Literal chaos in some instances, and sickbay was full of injuries, everything from carelessness through flare-ups to attempted suicide.
So much so that she had been ready to give herself over to Burgoyne during one of the more aggressive flare-ups of her condition.
Quarreling and bickering were incessant, violent flare-ups and passionate scenes of denunciation and vituperation were of almost hourly occurrence.
Victor Henry gestured at the angry yellow flare-ups on the black western clouds.
The initial flash point was a fresh flare-up in the Balkans sometime in the first decade of this century, not in Russia or Belarussia-or not immediately, at any rate-and things got out of hand when someone used bioweapons.
In some mysterious fashion the cushion stopped the pain from exploding into one of its sudden borealises, as Hay tended to think of those excruciating flare-ups when his whole body would be electrified by jolts of pain -- originating in the atrophied -- if not worse -- prostate gland, whose dictatorship ordered his life, obliging him to pass water or, painfully, not to pass water, a dozen times during the night, accompanied by a burning sensation reminiscent of his youth when he had briefly contracted in war-time Washington a minor but highly popular venereal infection.
Perhaps that contributed to Clover Lee's flare-up later that afternoon, when the usually unfaultable facilities of the Grand Hôtel for once went amiss.