Flourish is comparable with the other words listed in the sense of increasing towards or being in a very desirable condition, or one of maximum development. Thus, a farm is said to flourish when it is well tended and producing large crops, and a school of painters is said to have flourished at the time when most of its best paintings were produced. Flower means to be in the best condition or period of development: Keat’s talent flowered in his early twenties.

Luxuriate means to grow or increase so abundantly as to reach or border upon excess: Dandelions luxuriate on untended lawns.

Prosper is applied to persons or enterprises that do well or succeed financially. A man may prosper through effort and good fortune, or his farm may prosper through good management and an absence of drought.

Thrive is generally applied to living things that enjoy physical growth or well-being.

• Tropical plants thrive in a greenhouse; Growing children thrive in summer camps.

Thrive is occasionally applied to non-living things that by extension are considered living: a thriving community.