flourish (flourishes plural & 3rd person present) (flourishing present participle) (flourished past tense & past participle )
1 verb If something flourishes, it is successful, active, or common, and developing quickly and strongly.
(=thrive) (Antonym: flounder)
Business flourished and within six months they were earning 18,000 roubles a day... V
♦
flourishing adj
London quickly became a flourishing port.
2 verb If a plant or animal flourishes, it grows well or is healthy because the conditions are right for it.
(=thrive)
The plant flourishes particularly well in slightly harsher climes. V
♦
flourishing adj
Britain has the largest and most flourishing fox population in Europe.
3 verb If you flourish an object, you wave it about in a way that makes people notice it.
He flourished the glass to emphasize the point. V n
Flourish is also a noun., n-count
4 n-count If you do something with a flourish, you do in a showy way so that people notice it.