Blossom

To produce or open flowers.

Reach for it when speaking about a tree or plant entering flower

The young cherry trees blossom despite the exposed hillside.

• everyday

  bloom

  flowers open or potential becomes fully visible

  not when the unfolding stage is the image

• professional

  flower

  only the literal plant process matters

  not when the positive developmental metaphor should remain

• literary

  bud

  growth has only just begun

  not when mature success is already visible

To develop attractively from an early or uncertain stage.

Reach for it when celebrating emerging skill, confidence, friendship, or opportunity

A tentative partnership began to blossom into genuine trust.

• everyday

  grow

  a plain account of increasing ability fits

  not when a specifically attractive transformation is meant

• warm

  flourish

  the subject is prospering strongly

  not when the delicate transition from possibility matters

• professional

  develop

  change over time needs neutral wording

  not when the direction must be praised as healthy

• literary

  unfold

  gradual revelation shapes the thought

  not when improvement rather than mere sequence is claimed

• wither
• fail to flower
• deteriorate

• blossom in spring

  The old apple trees still blossom in spring.

• blossom into

  Her practical interest would blossom into a gift for engineering.

• begin to blossom

  Trust can begin to blossom after the teams solve one small problem together.

• Blossoming adj.