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Can anybody tell me if there a single word which has the meaning 'to grow and flourish'?

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Literally? Metaphorically? – Peter Taylor Dec 16 '11 at 15:28
I think growish is a nice word. – kiamlaluno Dec 16 '11 at 15:29
4  
'Prosper' might serve. – Barrie England Dec 16 '11 at 15:34
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Have you looked in an online thesaurus for 'grow' or 'flourish'? – Mitch Dec 16 '11 at 16:43
Yes, @BarrieEngland - Live long and prosper – Izkata Dec 16 '11 at 20:19
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closed as off topic by Robert Cartaino♦ Dec 19 '11 at 17:46

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4 Answers

up vote 15 down vote accepted

I believe you're looking for thrive.

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up vote 3 down vote

How about bloom / blossom ?

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Bloom/blossom usually imply a "metamorphosis" into a more pleasing form, but OP's grow and flourish suggest he's looking more for the thrive connotations. – FumbleFingers Dec 16 '11 at 17:15
up vote 1 down vote

Flourish

  1. to be in a vigorous state; thrive: a period in which art flourished.
  2. to be in its or in one's prime; be at the height of fame, excellence, influence, etc.
  3. to be successful; prosper.
  4. to grow luxuriantly, or thrive in growth, as a plant.
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I think that's a bit of a sly answer. You might as well have suggested OP's other word - grow. – FumbleFingers Dec 16 '11 at 17:16
I see your point, but he's looking for a single word, it just so happens that he already has it. – Christopher Rayl Dec 16 '11 at 18:32
Indubitably. So I should be justified in putting up "grow" to collect a bit more rep! Seriously, I think flourish truly is the best word from OP's point of view. He knows the word, and it means what he wants to say, which are seriously good reasons for using words. But thrive has all that and more (not least, alliteration with "thrust"), so - no disrespect - I hope you don't mind if I cast my vote for "Ma Man" @tenfour. (I'm confident your day will come! :) – FumbleFingers Dec 17 '11 at 0:16
...Just to say that @tenfour had another well-deserved hit with clunky, though I really wish he'd go back there and delete the totally worthless "unintuitive". – FumbleFingers Dec 17 '11 at 0:20
It's cool, I voted up thrive as well. – Christopher Rayl Dec 19 '11 at 3:03
up vote 0 down vote

Evolve

It kind of sounds scientific but I don't think it is inartistic as a word, if that is what you are going for.

or

Mature

I think it is pretty acceptable to think that as time passes by certain tastes of our mature and become more refine.

Although, I am not sure if any of these words really cover the 'flourish' part of your requirements.

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