unflattering

adjective

un·​flat·​ter·​ing ˌən-ˈfla-tə-riŋ How to pronounce unflattering (audio)
: not flattering
an unflattering portrait
especially : unfavorable
unflattering remarks
unflatteringly adverb

Examples of unflattering in a Sentence

She was wearing the most unflattering outfit.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Working as part of a collaboration often scrubs the more human elements from the story, those moments that might be unflattering are the moments that remind people that these mythic figures of our imagination are, in fact, flawed humans, just like you and me. Brendan O’Meara 23, Literary Hub, 23 June 2025 The comparisons are mostly unflattering to The Phoenician Scheme, which is neither as touching nor as joyful as those earlier films, choked by the hermetic tidiness that occasionally haunts Anderson’s work. Scott Tobias, Vulture, 7 June 2025 Musk and Trump have a long history of attacking publications that publish unflattering stories about them or their businesses. Will McCurdy, PC Magazine, 31 May 2025 The prompt for this abrupt and rather unflattering end was, inevitably, a social media post. Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 19 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for unflattering

Word History

First Known Use

1581, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unflattering was in 1581

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Cite this Entry

“Unflattering.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unflattering. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.

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