Words / C2

BURJ-uh-n/ˈbɜːdʒən/

To burgeon is to grow or increase fast (formal / literary): burgeoning demand, a burgeoning field. Grow and boom are everyday; flourish is a cousin. Burden is a load — a lookalike. Do not use burgeon for a 1% wobble.

Meaning

To begin to grow or increase rapidly (formal / literary).

Examples

• “Burgeoning enrolments did not burgeon the marking budget.”
• “Burgeoning enrolments did not burgeon the marking budget, which was the squeeze.”
• “Grow is everyday. Boom is economic slang. Flourish can be thrive rather than just swell. A burden is a load. Keep burgeon for rapid growth, and check what is not growing with it.”

Good to know

Grow or flourish rapidly. Everyday: grow. Close: flourish / boom. Mix-up: burden. Not a tiny wobble; check what failed to grow.

Near in meaning

grow

New