flourish

/ˈflʌɹ.ɪʃ/

//ˈflʌɹ.ɪʃ// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"flourish" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“flourish” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,324. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,324
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To thrive or grow well.

Corpus desk

Index EN-flourish · flourish · English

flourish · rank #14,324 · 12 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #14,324
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH Ferdinand

Nearest frequency peer: Ferdinand (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “flourish”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “flourish” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

flourish vs florist
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for flourish
PropertyValue
Headwordflourish
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈflʌɹ.ɪʃ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#14,324
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “flourish”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).flourishlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Ferdinand” (#14,323), “flowering” (#14,325), “favourable” (#14,322). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “flourish” is #14,324. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around flourish (IPA /ˈflʌɹ.ɪʃ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #14,324 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 13 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for flourish, with forms such as "fflourish", "fllourish", and "floruish". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "florist", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English floryschen, from Old French florir (via the arrhizotonic stem floriss-), from Late Latin flōrīre, from Latin flōrēre, from Latin flōrem (“flower”, noun). Corresponds to flower + -ish. The correct English form is flourish, spelled F-L-O-U-R-I-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    To thrive or grow well.
  2. 2
    To prosper or fare well.
  3. 3
    To be in a period of greatest influence.
  4. 4
    To develop; to make thrive; to expand.
  5. 5
    To make bold, sweeping movements with.
  6. 6
    To make bold and sweeping, fanciful, or wanton movements, by way of ornament, parade, bravado, etc.; to play with fantastic and irregular motion.
  7. 7
    To use florid language; to indulge in rhetorical figures and lofty expressions.
  8. 8
    To make ornamental strokes with the pen; to write graceful, decorative figures.
  9. 9
    To adorn with beautiful figures or rhetoric; to ornament with anything showy; to embellish.
  10. 10
    To execute an irregular or fanciful strain of music, by way of ornament or prelude.
  11. 11
    To boast; to vaunt; to brag.
  12. 12
    To brandish (a weapon).
  13. 13
    To be known to have been alive at a particular time or in a particular period, where one's birth and death dates are not known; to have been active during a specified period; floruit.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how flourish appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The barley flourished in the warm weather.
  2. 'Twas early June, the new grass was flourishing everywheres, the posies in the yard—peonies and such—in full bloom, the sun was shining, and the water of the bay was blue, with light green streaks where the shoal showed.

Etymology

From Middle English floryschen, from Old French florir (via the arrhizotonic stem floriss-), from Late Latin flōrīre, from Latin flōrēre, from Latin flōrem (“flower”, noun). Corresponds to flower + -ish.

This word in other languages

florecer(Español)fleurir(Français)gedeihen(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • fflourish
  • fllourish
  • floruish
  • flouirsh
  • flourihs
  • flourishh
  • flourissh
  • flourrish
  • floursih
  • fluorish
  • folurish
  • lfourish

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of flourish - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

fflourish1fllourish1floruish2flouirsh2flourihs2flourishh1flourissh1flourrish1
Edit distance from "flourish"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "flourish"?
"flourish" is spelled F-L-O-U-R-I-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈflʌɹ.ɪʃ/.
What does "flourish" mean?
As a verb, "flourish" means: To thrive or grow well.
What words are commonly confused with "flourish"?
"flourish" is commonly confused with "florist". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "flourish"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "flourish" is /ˈflʌɹ.ɪʃ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "flourish"?
From Middle English floryschen, from Old French florir (via the arrhizotonic stem floriss-), from Late Latin flōrīre, from Latin flōrēre, from Latin flōrem (“flower”, noun). Corresponds to flower + -ish. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "flourish", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

evacuate#14,316Griffith#14,332guarding#14,333countess#14,302

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

marvelous12 variantsbackbone12 variantsamenities12 variantspleading12 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list