I. ˈblāz noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English blase, from Old English blæse torch, firebrand; akin to Middle High German blas bald, Icelandic blesa blaze on a horse's face, Old English bǣl fire, pyre — more at bald
1.
a. : a bright and lambent flame
with what a blaze the lamp shines forth
b. : intense direct light often accompanied by heat
the blaze of noon
2.
a. : fire:
(1) : a freely burning flaming fire
we'll have a good blaze in a minute
(2) : a fire that flares up suddenly and spreads rapidly
fires would appear in the most distant places from the main blaze — Mary H. Vorse
b. : an instance of blazing : a burning with brightness and flame
the crackle and blaze of dry oak logs
— compare smolder
3. : something suggesting or resembling a flame or fire: as
a. : a display of or as if of light
the Christmas blaze of shops — Saul Bellow
especially : a striking or brilliant display
hills covered with a blaze of flowers
a blaze of love, and extinction, was better than a lantern glimmer of the same — Thomas Hardy
b. : a bursting forth or active display of some quality
a great blaze of patriotism
: outburst
her words came in a blaze of fury
c. : brilliance , brightness
the blaze of his auburn hair
d. : hell — usually used in plural
go to blazes
often as an intensive with in
where in blazes have you been
4.
a. : a hand or combination of cards in certain old card games containing only face cards
b. : such a hand in some poker games where it ranks between two pairs and three of a kind
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English blasen, from blase, n.
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to burn with bright flame
he stirred the fire and the logs blazed up
b. : to burn with fervor or passion
his eyes blazed with anger
c. : to flare up like a fire
must this old conflict blaze up again
2.
a. : to send forth or reflect glowing or brilliant light
the sun blazing overhead
b. : to be or become conspicuous or resplendent
an intellect that blazed above his fellows like a meteor
the air was frosty, the ridges blazing with color
3.
a. : to shoot especially rapidly and repeatedly — usually used with away
any but the best would have lost their nerve and blazed away — Fred Majdalany
b. : to do or continue to do something vigorously ; especially : to utter arguments or reproaches with great intensity
they keep blazing away about ideals and principles — John Buchan
she blazed out in anger and disgust
transitive verb
1.
a. : to cause to blaze : burn
the forests were blazed by the contemptuous use of wood fuel — Bernard Pares
b. : to cause the surface of (a food) to flame
a pudding blazed with brandy
2.
a. : to shine with : be resplendent with
the sugar maples blaze their orange glory — L.S.Gannett
b. : to show forth : call attention to
he blazed his wrath to all who would listen
the stalls and stores blazing their bargains
Synonyms:
flame , flare , glare , glow : blaze implies great activity in burning, with suggestions of leaping flame or of radiation of intense heat. Figuratively, it applies to what commands notice by fervency, marked activity, or intensity
the pine branches were soon blazing
the sun blazing down on the prairie
Cobbett, the tough, bluff Englishman … lived in the United States from 1792 to 1800 and made the country too hot to hold him by blazing antirevolutionary propaganda — Gilbert Highet
Conkling, eyes blazing, rose to reply and lashed out with all the oratorical fury and savage invective at his command — Sidney Warren
after the heavy rains which come at infrequent intervals, the desert blazes with colorful flowers — American Guide Series: California
flame calls attention to leaping or darting tongues of fire, perhaps with less steadiness, intensity, and effectiveness than blaze
the paper fire flamed up
discontent with harsh treatment and long hours without pay flamed into open protest — American Guide Series: Arkansas
she flamed forth in public life as an embodiment of democracy, as the hope and cheer of common men — Marvin Lowenthal
the windowpanes, which flamed with a reflected glow — Ellen Glasgow
flare may suggest single flames or fires darting up with sudden light or similar lighting effects or sudden bursts of activity or feeling
torches flared in the darkness — F.V.W.Mason
the shore shut off the bottom of the tower. You could only see the top, the white tapering over the brown sand until it flared into the red crown that held the light which mariners on a tall bridge could see for more than thirty miles in the night — Wirt Williams
national guardsmen stand ready to move in if violence should flare between the trigger-tempered factions — H.H.Martin
on the Republican side of the aisle tempers flared and fighting words were hurled — New York Times
glare suggests a quite bright or dazzling steady light that compels notice and often becomes unpleasant; in figurative uses it may apply to the egregious or flagrant or may connote antipathy or malevolence
the sun glaring on the snow
an unshielded light bulb glaring in his eyes
this injustice was peculiarly glaring — T.B.Macaulay
watch a pair of cats, crouching on the brink of a fight. Balefully the eyes glare — Aldous Huxley
glow stresses emission of light without flame and may suggest steadiness, luminousness, and duration; in extensions it may indicate showing strong bright color or diffused strong feeling
the sun was low in the west, and the sky was glowing — Charles Dickens
the beauty of hills glowing purple with heather — O.S.Nock
what mattered … was the fire that burned within him, that glowed with so strange and marvelous a radiance in almost all he wrote — Aldous Huxley
III. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English blasen to blow (an instrument), to proclaim, from Middle Dutch blāsen to blow; akin to Old High German blāsan to blow — more at blast
1. : to make public or conspicuous : proclaim , disseminate
blaze those virtues which the good would hide — Alexander Pope
— often used with abroad
people who blaze abroad each new bit of scandal
2. obsolete : blazon 2
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: German blas, from Old High German plas; akin to Middle Dutch & Middle Low German bles blaze, Swedish bläs blaze, horse with a blaze, Old Norse bles ōttr with a blaze, Middle Low German blare blaze, Old English blæse torch — more at blaze (fire)
1.
a. : a white mark on the face of a horse, cow, or other animal ; especially : a white stripe running down the face to the lips
b. : a facial pattern in certain cats in which two colors (as red and black) meet along a line down the nose
c. : a white or gray streak in the hair of the head ; especially : one clearly demarked and extending back from the forehead
2.
a. : a mark made on a tree usually by chipping off a piece of the bark
b. : a trail or road marked out by blazes
c. : something serving as a clew to or identification of a course or way to be followed
she must try to find her way by the blazes of former emotion — Kathleen Sproul
3. : patch I 5
V. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
1. : to mark (a tree) usually by chipping off a piece of bark
go through the lot and blaze the trees to be cut this winter
2.
a. : to mark out (as a path) by making blazes on trees
blazed a trail through the mountains
b. : to lead or pioneer in some direction or activity
the new Russia promised, for a time, to follow the liberal democratic path the United States had blazed — Oscar Handlin
we blaze open a vast new territory of enjoyment — John Gassner