butter

noun

ˈbə-tər How to pronounce butter (audio)
Definition of butternext
as in flattery
excessive praise a junior exec who was laying on the butter so thickly that her colleagues were ready to gag

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for butter
  1. flattery
  2. praise
  3. soft soap
  4. sweet talk
  5. adulation
  6. acclaim
Noun
  • Sanghee, who has a day job importing snacks and shoots short films in her spare time, spends two days with the family as old secrets, unsolicited advice and hollow flattery come to the surface.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 14 July 2026
  • Rutte’s approach of using flattery to win over the president prompted some to question whether this had delivered any tangible benefits for the alliance.
    — Sam Meredith, CNBC, 9 July 2026
Definition of flattery
Noun
  • Bobby Wilson was a pastor’s son who grew up idolizing the kind of R&B dudes who could wail a praise song and then hit up Freaknik afterwards (think Jodeci and H-Town).
    — Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 11 July 2026
  • Amassing 2 million views and widespread praise, these videos feature photorealistic AI versions of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, with stories set between *The Empire Strikes Back* and *Return of the Jedi*.
    — Caroline Reid, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026
Definition of praise
Noun
  • People should wash any skin that comes into contact with the slurry with water and soft soap, before using a hand cream to avoid dryness and cracking.
    — Lauren Penington, The Denver Post, 2 Sep. 2024
  • Founder and creative director Joy Cho’s lifestyle brand offers whimsical products, spanning bandages to soft soap, as well as regular editorial content online.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2021
Definition of soft soap
Noun
  • Watch an encounter full of sweet talk, gaslighting and tension here.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 14 Feb. 2026
  • Don’t fall for compliments that don’t feel genuine, and don’t be afraid to confront whatever’s beneath someone’s sweet talk.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 23 Sep. 2025
Definition of sweet talk
Noun
  • Fans showered Ovechkin with cheers and adulation, despite his refusal to acknowledge the surrounding uncertainty.
    — Sean Gentille, New York Times, 2 July 2026
  • Each member derives her own realizations from this experience, with its dual crucibles of grindingly hard work and pop adulation.
    — Elizabeth Gulino, Allure, 25 June 2026
Definition of adulation
Noun
  • The next year, Yates followed up this success with the short-story collection Eleven Kinds of Loneliness, which likewise won critical acclaim.
    — Scott Spires, Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 July 2026
  • Despite its near-universal acclaim, Kesey himself was not a fan.
    — Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 9 July 2026
Definition of acclaim
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.

Phrases Containing butter

Browse Nearby Words

butted (on or against)
butter
buttered up
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Butter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/butter. Accessed 17 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on butter

Nglish: Translation of butter for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about butter

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