Definition of "flare-up" []

• A sudden outbreak of flame or light: a flare-up of the embers. (noun)
• An outburst or eruption: a flare-up of anger. (noun)
• A recurrence or an intensification: a flare-up of rheumatism. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The episode is the latest flare-up of tension between the companies over issues including Yahoo's unwillingness to sell back its stake to Alibaba Group and Yahoo's frustration over the management of its brand in China."
• "The student had sought me out to ask whether, as the Martin Peretz Professor of Yiddish Literature, I might offer an opinion on the flare-up."
• "Another minicrisis, such as a repeat of the spring's flare-up of sovereign-debt worries in Europe, also could cause corporate bonds to suffer."