flatter

verb flat·ter \ ˈfla-tər \

|Updated on: 9 Aug 2018

Examples: flatter in a Sentence

Definition of flatter

flattered; flattering; flatters

transitive verb

1 : to praise excessively especially from motives of self-interest

He flattered her with comments about how youthful she looks.

2 a archaic : beguile 2

b : to encourage or gratify especially with the assurance that something is right

I flatter myself that my interpretation is correct.

3 a : to portray too favorably

The portrait flatters him.

b : to display to advantage

Candlelight often flatters the face.

intransitive verb

: to use flattery

—

flatterer

play \ˈfla-tər-ər\ noun

See flatter defined for English-language learners

See flatter defined for kids

Examples of flatter in a Sentence

He flattered her with comments about her youthful appearance.
It flattered her to be asked to sing at their wedding.
That dress really flatters your figure.

Recent Examples of flatter from the Web

Without hesitation, Machado acknowledged being flattered by the attention and noticing it enough to anticipate fanfare at 35th and Shields for a four-game series against the White Sox.

— david haugh, chicagotribune.com, "Manny Machado, the ideal Cub, handles hoopla over arrival like superstar he is," 22 May 2018
Their results are partly flattered by a poor 2015 and 2016, when concerns intensified about rising bad loans across China’s financial sector.

— Bloomberg.com, "Top Chinese Banks' Profit Comeback Augurs Higher Valuations," 27 Mar. 2018
Firstly, the drop off from Edinson Cavani to Cristhian Stuani would flatter any defence, and accordingly Suarez was too frustrated with his new strike partner to offer any kind of thrust back.

— SI.com, "Why Didier Deschamps Is Still a Problem Regardless of Leading France to the World Cup Final," 12 July 2018
In 1986, Soviet ambassador Yuri Dubinin met Trump in New York, flattered him with praise for his building exploits, and invited him to discuss a building in Moscow.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "Will Trump Be Meeting With His Counterpart — Or His Handler?," 8 July 2018
Oysters have two distinct shell halves attached with a hinge: one looks like a cup, and the other is flatter, like a lid.

— malia wollan, New York Times, "How to Shuck an Oyster," 27 June 2018
Look at the liquid lipsticks, the glosses, the blushes... everything is vibrant, bold, and flattering on fair skin tones, deep skin tones, and everything in between.

— refinery29.com, "We Tried Everything From Flesh Beauty — & Here's Our Unfiltered Opinion," 26 June 2018
Hillbilly Elegy flatters its audience rather than challenging them, suggesting that poverty is a problem, yes, but not really one its readers have anything to do with.

— todd vanderwerff, Vox, "Donald Trump paints the border as a lawless hellhole. But so does American pop culture.," 22 June 2018
Trump has flattered Kim but gotten little more than a photo op.

— jeet heer, The New Republic, "A brief history of American presidents praising dictators.," 12 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'flatter.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of flatter

Middle English flateren, from Anglo-French flater to lap, flatter, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German flaz flat

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

flatter Synonyms

Synonyms

adulate, blarney, butter up, hero-worship, honey, massage, overpraise, puff, soft-soap, stroke;

Near Antonyms

bad-mouth, belittle, decry, depreciate, disparage, put down;

fawn, kowtow, suck (up to), toady;

idolize, worship;

eulogize, extol (also extoll), laud, praise;

applaud, commend, compliment;

congratulate, felicitate;

drool, gush, slaver, slobber;

endear, ingratiate;

court, romance, woo;

flatter

noun

Definition of flatter

: one that flattens; especially : a flat-faced swage used in smithing

Recent Examples of flatter from the Web

On The Valley, there are straight downhill tee shots on the par 4 first and par 3 tenth holes, straight uphill approach shots on the par 4 ninth and par 3 18th, along with several flatter and more manageable layouts in between.

— brent kennedy, baltimoresun.com, "Hunt Valley Country Club," 11 July 2018
Towards dusk, as the two friends headed down from the falls into flatter, more open country, a crowd of villagers surrounded their car.

— The Economist, "From dusty villages to Delhi, Indians seek people to persecute," 5 July 2018
Ellipticals are thick, like round cakes of soap; disks are much flatter.

— adrian cho, Science | AAAS, "Galaxy simulations are at last matching reality—and producing surprising insights into cosmic evolution," 30 May 2018
The most compelling of such works hang on the wall: Valerie Hegarty, Thomas Mailaender and Jesse Edwards have turned ceramics into imitations of paintings, photographs and TV sets, with the objects getting flatter as the illusionistic space deepens.

— roberta smith, martha schwendener, will heinrich and jillian steinhauer, New York Times, "What to See in New York Art Galleries This Week," 18 Apr. 2018
The relative movements in these maturities left the yield curve flatter, meaning the gap narrowed between short- and long-term rates.

— Bloomberg.com, "Mnuchin's Treasury Poised to Rev Up Supply as Budget Gap Widens," 26 Apr. 2018
The first had been a much flatter and shorter practice run down at sea level at Point Reyes National Seashore.

— tara duggan, San Francisco Chronicle, "Yosemite backpacking with kids is worth a few tears," 26 Apr. 2018
Strong spreader bars at each end of the 90-inch-long hammock help maintain a flatter, tauter 42-inch width so the hammock doesn't fold in on you while you are suspended.

— judi dash, latimes.com, "These items help you find your stuff, ease your pain, make the cut and drift off to sleep," 23 Apr. 2018
Prior efforts to make the song the state’s official rock ballad fell flatter than an out-of-tune Stratocaster.

— travis andersen, BostonGlobe.com, "That proposal to make ‘Roadrunner’ the official song of Mass.? It’s back," 20 Apr. 2018

First Known Use of flatter

1714

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Other Hardware Terms

adze, auger, awl, chock, ferrule, punch, tang

FLATTER Defined for English Language Learners

flatter

verb

Definition of flatter for English Language Learners

: to praise (someone) in a way that is not sincere
: to cause (someone) to feel pleased by showing respect, affection, or admiration
: to show or describe (someone or something) in a way that is very favorable or too favorable