How to Use flourish in a Sentence

flourish

1 of 2 verb
  • Dressed as a pirate, he entered the stage flourishing his sword.
  • Regional markets have flourished in recent years.
  • Be elite at one thing and watch your game flourish.
    — Greg Liodice, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
  • Crime has long flourished there.
    — Ed Caesar, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Where would these guys flourish?
    — Josef Adalian, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Pterosaurs took to the skies, while ichthyosaurs flourished in the oceans.
    — Sean Mowbray, Discover Magazine, 20 Sep. 2023
  • Who cares if her love life isn’t flourishing?
    — Mia Sosa, PEOPLE, 15 Sep. 2025
  • May your business flourish and bring you lots of joy in the new year.
    — Woman's Day, 22 Dec. 2022
  • These hardy crops will flourish just about anywhere with the right care.
    — Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, 11 Sep. 2020
  • Knoblauch needs to find a way for both men to flourish; that’s a massive task.
    — Allan Mitchell, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
  • All three elements must be in place for the stage to flourish.
    — Los Angeles Times, 21 Dec. 2020
  • Brooks wants to be able to create a farm that will flourish the entire year.
    — Megan Taros, The Arizona Republic, 16 June 2021
  • When someone can pick up some of the slack, other things can flourish.
    — Katie Bain, Billboard, 20 Dec. 2019
  • What kind of plant life would flourish in a sun’s unchanging glare?
    — Chris Gunn, National Geographic, 23 July 2019
  • Win or lose, dreams of a more unified France will flourish once again.
    — Sean Gregory, Time, 13 July 2018
  • These are likely cool-season weeds that flourish this time of the year.
    — Tom MacCubbin, Orlando Sentinel, 21 Jan. 2023
  • Lemon balm also likes good drainage and will flourish in a potting mix.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 3 May 2026
  • But times have changed, and over the last decade, the boys’ and girls’ programs have flourished.
    — Stan Awtrey, AJC.com, 10 May 2026
  • Their project has flourished far beyond what any of them could have imagined.
    — Ephrat Livni, Quartz, 19 Dec. 2019
  • New mom-and-pop brands joined Santana and flourished.
    — Mark Dent, HubSpot, 1 June 2026
  • The Jays don’t have many flourishing righty bats.
    — Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 2 June 2026
  • Though only a fifth of them lived, the ones that survived have flourished.
    — Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Mar. 2024
  • Yet scooters have survived and may still flourish, both here and abroad.
    — Bruce Selcraig, San Antonio Express-News, 29 Nov. 2021
  • Just pass the rock around and make sure everybody who is around me can flourish.
    — Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 26 June 2026
  • The trade opened the door for Boston’s prospects; none have flourished.
    — Stephen J. Nesbitt, New York Times, 16 June 2026
  • That’s bad for a company but not for artists, who flourish with an open brief.
    — Dean Kissick, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2021
  • Avoid these errors, and your hydrangeas will flourish in no time.
    — Steve Bender, Southern Living, 24 June 2026
  • Theories flourished that the dogs could have been stolen.
    — Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 26 Mar. 2026
  • Basil flourishes in full sun and moist, well-draining soil.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 3 May 2026
  • Pushed to be creative, Ha flourished.
    — Jordan Bianchi, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2026

flourish

2 of 2 noun
  • She opened the door with a flourish.
  • He waved his sword with a flourish.
  • With a flourish of her pen, she signed the bill into law.
  • Dinner was served with a flourish.
  • Her writing style is simple and clear, without unnecessary flourishes.
  • The Celtics closed the third with a flourish.
    — Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 31 Dec. 2025
  • Or bring on the heat with a dab of hot sauce or a flourish of chile flakes.
    — Emma Wartzman, Bon Appétit, 31 Aug. 2020
  • That is not a clever closing flourish.
    — Literary Hub, 26 June 2026
  • Then sit back and watch your zinnia patch mature and flourish.
    — The Editors, Good Housekeeping, 13 Aug. 2018
  • All of these flourishes are done with an admirable straight face.
    — Brian Feldman, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2024
  • Athletes might enjoy adding their own flourish to a plate of food, too.
    — Claire Cameron, Scientific American, 11 Feb. 2026
  • Think of it as real-life dressing with a flourish.
    — Andrea Zendejas, Vogue, 16 Dec. 2025
  • Trees grow, the seasons turn, and life flourishes.
    — Denni Hu, Footwear News, 14 May 2026
  • Top it off with a few basil leaves before serving for a fresh final flourish.
    — Maggie Meyer Glisan, Better Homes & Gardens, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Even gowns are on the grid and come with statement-making flourishes.
    — Zoe Ruffner, Harper's BAZAAR, 27 Sep. 2019
  • The owners planned most of this house themselves and missed almost no chance for flourish.
    — Judy Rose, Detroit Free Press, 13 June 2021
  • The greatest flourish is that Snapchat filter mask that is worn in the first episode.
    — Liz Shannon Miller, The Verge, 2 July 2019
  • Through hushed hazes of strings emerge gentle pulsings and flourishes of winds.
    — Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, 18 Feb. 2026
  • Here is an old-style, full-service steakhouse with all the flourishes.
    — Rand Richards Cooper, courant.com, 4 Oct. 2019
  • That is not a rhetorical flourish.
    — Zennon Kapron, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026
  • And like a cherry on top of dessert, the egg should gleam with a brilliant, inviting flourish.
    — Arlyn Osborne, Bon Appétit, 20 Jan. 2022
  • Apple chips add the final flourish.
    — Mary Shannon Wells, Southern Living, 11 May 2026
  • Drizzling oil over a dish as a final flourish is an easy way to add richness and flavor.
    — TheWeek, 14 Nov. 2020
  • The win over Seton Hall saw some of the young talent flourish.
    — Stephen Means, cleveland, 29 Jan. 2022
  • There was even a padded vinyl roof—a popular luxury flourish of the day.
    — Ben Stewart, Popular Mechanics, 9 Aug. 2020
  • Their four slim dobby stripes add a stylistic flourish to the WC.
    — Hadley Keller, House Beautiful, 9 June 2020
  • And the royal pomp and flourishes are the extra cherry on top.
    — Julie Washington, cleveland.com, 17 Sep. 2019
  • Her simple white slip dress was made from silk and cut on the bias, with a scooping cowl neck as its only flourish.
    — Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2025
  • Southern peas are a spring through summer crop and flourish during the hot weather.
    — Tom MacCubbin, orlandosentinel.com, 26 Sep. 2020
  • Zoe added an eyelet flourish at the base of the veil to anchor it to Hannah’s head.
    — Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 9 Feb. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'flourish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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