Flair vs. Flare How to Choose the Right Word

The words flair and flare are homophones: They sound the same but have different meanings. The  noun  flair means a talent or distinctive quality or style.  As a noun, flare means a fire or a blazing light. As a verb, flare means to burn with an unsteady flame or shine with a sudden light. Violence, troubles, tempers, and nostrils can flare. How to Use Flair Flair means a talent for something. You might say, The student has a flair for drawing. This means that the student has a talent, or special gift, for drawing. Flair can also mean an eagerness for something or a distinctive style. If you say, The student has a  flair  for photography, you would, of course, be describing the student as talented in photography, but you could also be explaining that she has a distinctive style when taking pictures. Another way to put it is, She has a  flair  for photography. She has a good eye. How to Use Flare Flare as a noun can mean  a fire or blaze of light that is often used as a signal. In this use, you might say, The airport set flares to guide the plane as it landed. As an adjective, flare can mean to increase quickly and often unsteadily, as in, the candle flared suddenly, meaning its flame flickered and increased, or his temper flared, meaning he got angry suddenly. Flare as a verb can also describe the shape of something that widens, often at the bottom, as in the blue jeans  flared  at the bottom, meaning they got larger or wider at the bottom. In a previous era, when such pants were in fashion, they were called bell bottoms or flares. You could also say, the oak tree flared at the bottom, meaning that it got wider at the bottom. Examples Authors and writers have made good use of the terms flair and flare because the terms are very descriptive, as in: He wore his outfit with great flair. In this case, the person didnt so much have a talent for wearing clothes; rather, he wore them with a distinctive style. Though, by implication, this also means that he did have a flair—a talent or gift—for dressing well. Another example might read: With her natural flair for the dramatic, Wendy single-handedly arranged the biggest media event that the company had ever staged. You would be saying that Wendy has a tendency, or talent, for the dramatic. You can also use the term flare to mean a signal flame: The man, stranded in the desert, lit a flare to try to attract the attention of the search plane as it flew over his location. Flare can also have a more  figurative  meaning, indicating a rekindling of passion such as: Seeing her after all these years, caused his passion to flare as he gazed upon his lost love. In this usage, romances dont literally flare up like a flame; rather, the passion between two people increases or ignites quickly. How to Remember the Difference Try looking at the word flared to help remember the difference between flair and flare. The word flared includes the word red. As noted,  flare as a noun can mean  a fire  or blaze of light. Something that has flared has produced a fire or flame. Fire is often orange but also contains  red. Flare is also often paired with the word up. So, if you hear someone say that a persons temper has flared up or that a small blaze suddenly flared up into a major blaze, you would know to use the word flared, which contains  red  and  is followed by up. Idiom Alerts Flare, especially, has some distinct idiomatic uses: Flare up: The expression to flare up means to occur suddenly or to express strong negative emotion. A flare-up is a sudden outburst: Seeing the boy dent his new car caused Georges temper to flare up instantly.If Adam doesnt watch his diet, his gout may flare up. When speaking figuratively, you might also use the expression to let the reader or listener know that the person in question lost his temper quickly as in, The bosss temper flared in an instant or The bosss tempered flared up when I told him I had botched the project. Flare out:  This expression also means to get wider, usually at the bottom: Her skirt flares out around her knees as she dances. Flare off:  Flare off, an expression often used in the oil and gas industry, essentially means to burn off into the atmosphere: According to an article by David Wogan, published in September 2013 on the Scientific American Blog Network, energy producers in North Dakota flared off about $1 billion worth of natural gas in 2012. Sources â€Å"Flair or Flare? Whats the Difference? | Oxford Dictionaries.†Ã‚  Oxford Dictionaries | English, Oxford Dictionaries, 11 Nov. 2014.Grammar.com, ​www.grammar.com/flare_vs._flair.Thinkmap, Inc. â€Å"Flair vs. Flare on Vocabulary.com.†Ã‚  Vocabulary.com.Wogan, David. â€Å"North Dakota Flared off $1 Billion Worth of Natural Gas Last Year.†Ã‚  Scientific American Blog Network, 12 Sept. 2013.