different between flourish vs expand

English

Alternative forms

• florysh, floryshe (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English floryschen, from Old French floriss-, stem of some conjugated forms of florir (compare French fleurir), from Vulgar Latin *flor?re, from Latin fl?re? (“I bloom”) (and conjugation partly from fl?r?sc?), from fl?s (“flower”). See flower + -ish.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?fl??.??/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?fl??.??/, /?fl?.??/
  • (hypercorrection) IPA^(key): /?fl??.??/
• (accents without the hurry–furry merger)
• (accents with the hurry–furry merger)

Verb

flourish (third-person singular simple present flourishes, present participle flourishing, simple past and past participle flourished)

1. (intransitive) To thrive or grow well.

2. (intransitive) To prosper or fare well.
   • 1795, Robert Nelson, A Companion for the Festivals and Fasts of the Church of England

     Bad men as frequently prosper and flourish, and that by the means of their wickedness.
3. (intransitive) To be in a period of greatest influence.

4. (transitive) To develop; to make thrive; to expand.
   • 1623, Francis Bacon, A Discourse of a War with Spain

     Bottoms of thread […] which with a good needle, perhaps may be flourished into large works.

5. (transitive) To make bold, sweeping movements with.

6. (intransitive) To make bold and sweeping, fanciful, or wanton movements, by way of ornament, parade, bravado, etc.; to play with fantastic and irregular motion.
7. (intransitive) To use florid language; to indulge in rhetorical figures and lofty expressions.
   • 1725, Isaac Watts, Logick, or The Right Use of Reason in the Enquiry After Truth With a Variety of Rules to Guard

     They dilate […] and flourish long upon little incidents.

8. (intransitive) To make ornamental strokes with the pen; to write graceful, decorative figures.
9. (transitive) To adorn with beautiful figures or rhetoric; to ornament with anything showy; to embellish.
   • 1716, Elijah Fenton, an ode to John Gower

     With shadowy verdure flourish'd high,

     A sudden youth the groves enjoy.

   • c. 1603-1604, William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure, Act IV, Scene 1

     To bring you thus together, 'tis no sin, Sith that the justice of your title to him Doth flourish the deceit.

10. (intransitive) To execute an irregular or fanciful strain of music, by way of ornament or prelude.
11. (intransitive, obsolete) To boast; to vaunt; to brag.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:prosper

Translations

Noun

flourish (plural flourishes)

1. A dramatic gesture such as the waving of a flag.
2. An ornamentation.

4. (music) A ceremonious passage such as a fanfare.

5. (architecture) A decorative embellishment on a building.

Translations

References

• flourish in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Anagrams

• rushfoil

English

Etymology

Recorded in Middle English since 1422 (as expanden, expaunden), from Anglo-Norman espaundre, from Latin expandere present active infinitive of expand? (“to spread out”), itself from ex- (“out, outwards”) + pand? (“to spread”). Doublet of spawn.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ænd
• IPA^(key): /?k?spænd/

Verb

expand (third-person singular simple present expands, present participle expanding, simple past and past participle expanded)

1. (transitive) To change (something) from a smaller form or size to a larger one; to spread out or lay open.

2. (transitive) To increase the extent, number, volume or scope of (something).
3. (transitive) To express (something) at length and/or in detail.
4. (transitive, algebra) To rewrite (an expression) as a longer, yet equivalent sum of terms.

5. (intransitive, algebra, of an expression) To become, by rewriting, a longer, yet equivalent sum of terms.

6. (transitive, arithmetic) To multiply both the numerator and the denominator of a fraction by the same natural number yielding a fraction of equal value
7. (intransitive) To change or grow from smaller to larger in form, number, or size.

8. (intransitive) To increase in extent, number, volume or scope.
9. (intransitive) To speak or write at length or in detail.
10. (intransitive) To feel generous or optimistic.

Synonyms

• (to change from a smaller form/size to a larger one): open out, spread, spread out, unfold
• (to increase the extent, number, volume or scope of): enlarge
• (to express at length or in detail): elaborate (on), expand on

Antonyms

• (to change from a smaller form/size to a larger one): contract
• (to increase the extent, number, volume or scope of): contract
• (algebra: to rewrite as an equivalent sum of terms): factor

Derived terms

• expandable
• expander

Related terms

• expanse
• expansible
• expansile
• expansive
• expansion
• expansionism

Translations