What does blare mean?
"Blare" is a verb meaning to produce a loud, harsh, and often unpleasant sound — the kind of noise that cuts through everything around it and demands attention. It is most commonly applied to mechanical or amplified sources: a radio blares, a car horn blares, a loudspeaker blares announcements across a crowded square. Used transitively, it can describe emitting such a sound, though the intransitive sense dominates everyday usage. As a noun, "a blare" denotes the loud, braying noise itself, as in "the blare of trumpets." The word carries a distinctly negative or intrusive connotation; we rarely say music blares when we mean it is being enjoyed. Its etymology is uncertain, but it appears to be imitative in origin, possibly echoing the bleating of animals before settling into its modern association with horns and machinery. Related forms include "blaring," the present participle, which doubles as an adjective describing persistently loud sound. For writers, "blare" offers a vivid, onomatopoeic alternative to plain verbs like "sound" or "play" whenever noise is meant to feel abrasive rather than pleasant.
To sound loudly and harshly, as music, a horn, or an alarm.
"Sirens blared throughout the city as the fire engines raced past."
This is by far the most common modern usage.
To emit (a loud, harsh sound) or broadcast (something) at high volume.
"The stadium loudspeakers blared the anthem across the pitch."
A loud, harsh, penetrating sound.
"We could hear the blare of the marching band three streets away."
Before it filled your ears with sirens and car horns, 'blare' may have started life as a word for the bleating of sheep — a reminder that one person's trumpet fanfare is another's flock of agitated ewes.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of blare
The origin of "blare" is uncertain, but it emerged in English around the late Middle Ages, with early uses suggesting an imitative or onomatopoeic formation. Some sources connect it to earlier words for the bleating of animals, implying that its sense shifted over time from animal cries to the harsh sounds of trumpets and later machinery. It has no widely agreed cognates in other languages, and its development within English appears largely native rather than borrowed.
Related word forms
How blare is actually used
Commonly used of mechanical or electronic sounds (radios, horns, alarms, speakers) rather than natural voices. The transitive sense is less frequent than the intransitive. Often carries a mildly negative connotation of intrusive or unwelcome loudness.
Easily confused with blare
'Blare' refers to loud harsh sounds, while 'blurt' means to utter something suddenly and impulsively without careful thought.
'Blast' is a broader term for a sudden loud sound or explosion; 'blare' specifically suggests a sustained harsh, often unpleasant, loudness.