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
  • Tom Cruise's recent effusive praise for Kate Middleton was not just Hollywood flattery, according to royal experts.
    — Ashley Hume , Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Imitation isn’t always a form of flattery, as evidenced by these stars’ reactions to on-screen depictions of their lives.
    — Brendan Le, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of flattery
Noun
  • Lancôme’s Idôle 3 Serum Supertint Skin Tint What exactly goes into a skin tint that graces the complexions of Mendes, Holmes, Sarandon, and gets the highest praise from a talented makeup artist?
    — Tamim Alnuweiri, InStyle, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The place back in 2013 received high praise in Saveur magazine for its pies, 20 different varieties.
    — Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 1 Oct. 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
  • Really, what writer, no matter how detached from their past, could resist that kind of sweet talk?
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Watch an encounter full of sweet talk, gaslighting and tension here.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 14 Feb. 2026
Definition of sweet talk
Noun
  • This adulation is all Fujino needs to take Kyomoto under her wing, and soon the two are inseparable, collaborating on strips where Fujino writes the stories and draws the figures while Kyomoto does the backgrounds.
    — Jay Weissberg, Variety, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Djokovic will have cheers about as loud as the ones that will be heard for the Americans Shelton and Fritz, the type of adulation that often fizzles before the ultimate prize.
    — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of adulation
Noun
  • As box office momentum, new creator pipelines and evolving business models collide with critical acclaim, industry buzz and Oscar ambition, what does commercial success mean for a film’s awards prospects now?
    — Clayton Davis, Variety, 25 Sep. 2026
  • The movies occupy a strange cultural position, though, making up a commercially successful franchise with basically zero critical acclaim.
    — Tyler Foggatt, New Yorker, 25 Sep. 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 3 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on butter

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about butter

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