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Flaunt vs Flourish - What's the difference?

flaunt | flourish | Synonyms |

In intransitive obsolete terms the difference between flaunt and flourish

is that flaunt is to wave or flutter smartly in the wind while flourish is to boast; to vaunt; to brag.

In transitive terms the difference between flaunt and flourish

is that flaunt is to parade, display with ostentation while flourish is to adorn with beautiful figures or rhetoric; to ornament with anything showy; to embellish.

As a noun flourish is

a dramatic gesture such as the waving of a flag.

flaunt

English

Alternative forms

* (l) (obsolete)

Verb

(en verb)
  • (obsolete) To wave or flutter smartly in the wind.
  • To parade, display with ostentation.
  • She's always flaunting her designer clothes.
  • (intransitive, archaic, or, literary) To show off, as with flashy clothing.
  • * Arbuthnot
  • You flaunt about the streets in your new gilt chariot.
  • * Alexander Pope
  • One flaunts in rags, one flutters in brocade.
  • * 1856 , ,
  • [T]he younger belles had begun to flaunt in the French fashions of flimsy muslins, shortwaisted— narrow-skirted.
  • * 1897 , ,
  • … and Mrs. Wix seemed to flaunt there in her finery.

    Usage notes

    * Do not confuse with flout.

    flourish

    English

    Verb

    (es)
  • To thrive or grow well.
  • *
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients, chapter=1 , passage='Twas early June, the new grass was flourishing everywheres, the posies in the yard—peonies and such—in full bloom, the sun was shining, and the water of the bay was blue, with light green streaks where the shoal showed.}}
  • To prosper or fare well.
  • * Nelson
  • Bad men as frequently prosper and flourish , and that by the means of their wickedness.
  • * '>citation
  • To be in a period of greatest influence.
  • To develop; to make thrive; to expand.
  • * Francis Bacon
  • Bottoms of thread which with a good needle, perhaps may be flourished into large works.
  • To make bold, sweeping movements with.
  • To make bold and sweeping, fanciful, or wanton movements, by way of ornament, parade, bravado, etc.; to play with fantastic and irregular motion.
  • * Alexander Pope
  • Impetuous spread the stream, and smoking flourished o'er his head.
  • To use florid language; to indulge in rhetorical figures and lofty expressions.
  • * J. Watts
  • They dilate and flourish long on little incidents.
  • To make ornamental strokes with the pen; to write graceful, decorative figures.
  • To adorn with beautiful figures or rhetoric; to ornament with anything showy; to embellish.
  • (Fenton)
    (Shakespeare)
  • To execute an irregular or fanciful strain of music, by way of ornament or prelude.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Why do the emperor's trumpets flourish thus?
  • (obsolete) To boast; to vaunt; to brag.
  • (Alexander Pope)

    Synonyms

    * See also

    Noun

    (es)
  • A dramatic gesture such as the waving of a flag.
  • With many flourishes of the captured banner, they marched down the avenue.
  • An ornamentation.
  • His signature ended with a flourish .
  • (music) A ceremonious passage such as a fanfare.
  • The trumpets blew a flourish as they entered the church.
  • (architecture) A decorative embellishment on a building.