flares

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
flare/fleə(r)/

▶noun

• 1 a sudden brief burst of flame or light.

• 2 a device producing a very bright flame as a signal or marker.

• 3 a sudden burst of intense emotion.

• 4 Photography extraneous illumination on film caused by internal reflection in the camera.

• 5 a gradual widening towards the hem of a garment.

  ■ (flares) trousers of which the legs widen from the knees down.

• 6 an upward and outward curve of a ship's bows.

▶verb

• 1 burn, shine, or be revealed with a sudden intensity.

• 2 (usu. flare up) suddenly become intense, angry, or violent.

• 3 gradually become wider at one end.

  ■ (of the nostrils) dilate.

– derivatives
flared adjective.

– origin C16 (in the sense ‘spread out one's hair’): of unknown origin.

usage: Do not confuse flare with flair: flare means ‘burn’ or ‘gradually become wider’, whereas flair means ‘a natural ability or talent’. Trousers may be flared, not flaired.