1
as in to smooth
to make free from breaks, curves, or bumps
flattened out the wrinkled paper before attempting to trace the pattern
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to bury
to defeat by a large margin
if you don't understand the rules, you're going to get flattened when you try to play
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of flatten
And yet, Waltz’s affable, wooden interpretation flattens the role and makes the movie’s moral center read as oddly mundane.
—
Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 6 Feb. 2026
Using fresh data from NASA’s Juno spacecraft, researchers at Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science have produced the most precise measurements yet of the solar system’s largest planet, showing that Jupiter is slightly smaller and more flattened than earlier estimates suggested.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 5 Feb. 2026
Divide the pasta mixture into four pieces and flatten with a rolling pin.
—Dallas Morning News, 5 Feb. 2026
Each character has been leveled by life in some way, resembling the Wayne Thiebaud model on the book’s cover — flattened by misogyny or malignant passive aggression or betrayal.
—New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for flatten
Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 6 Feb. 2026
Using fresh data from NASA’s Juno spacecraft, researchers at Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science have produced the most precise measurements yet of the solar system’s largest planet, showing that Jupiter is slightly smaller and more flattened than earlier estimates suggested.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 5 Feb. 2026
Divide the pasta mixture into four pieces and flatten with a rolling pin.
—Dallas Morning News, 5 Feb. 2026
Each character has been leveled by life in some way, resembling the Wayne Thiebaud model on the book’s cover — flattened by misogyny or malignant passive aggression or betrayal.
—New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for flatten
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flatten
Verb
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Appealing Venus is parading into your 6th House of Habits, bringing sweetness to routines and smoothing dynamics, which suits a diplomatic style of handling events.—
Tarot.com,
Hartford Courant,
10 Feb. 2026
-
To smooth the transition, start making changes earlier in the day, Popp suggested.—
Jamie Ducharme,
Health,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Some years ago, The Andrea, a seasonal seafood restaurant on the west end of Misquamicut Beach in Westerly, posted a black-and-white photo on Facebook showing a line of cars buried in the sand.—
Kathleen Hill,
The Providence Journal,
7 Feb. 2026
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The rumor is that 20 years earlier a teenage girl was killed and buried there by her parents, who subsequently disappeared.—
Television Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Tian Feng, former dean of SenseTime’s Intelligence Industry Research Institute, revealed that the free provision of T800 robots will help smaller companies overcome research and development barriers.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Feb. 2026
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The first obstacle to overcome is to develop a computer chip that works in the extreme conditions of space, which includes exposure to much higher levels of radiation.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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However, one false move threw her time off enough to keep Johnson in the lead.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
8 Feb. 2026
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The council was established in April 2024, nearly three years after President Jovenel Moïse was killed at his residence, throwing Haiti into widespread upheaval.—
EVENS SANON,
Arkansas Online,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
It’s inspired by a French silk pie, but without any eggs to whip.—
Alana Al-Hatlani,
Southern Living,
12 Feb. 2026
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For season 1 of The Boss, InStyle Editor in Chief Sally Holmes taps Julia Fox (Uncut Gems, Him, The Moment) as the Temporary-Permanent Ambassador of Slayage in an effort to whip the InStyle team’s style into shape ahead of New York Fashion Week.—
InStyle Editors,
InStyle,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Iran has been refusing requests by the agency to inspect the sites bombed in the June war.—
Farnoush Amiri,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
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Such joint ventures could allow Ukraine to produce more of its weapons elsewhere in Europe, ensuring stability of supply if factories inside Ukraine get bombed.—
Simon Shuster,
The Atlantic,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Its project is annihilating transformation.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Feb. 2026
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Usually these particles almost immediately disappear again by annihilating each other—but not this time.—
Clara Moskowitz,
Scientific American,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Overall, Seattle is hardly ever in base defense, utilizing a smothering hybrid scheme, often employing extra DBs in a big nickel look.—
Hank Gola,
New York Daily News,
6 Feb. 2026
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The filmmaker leans pop-comic rather than petrifying in his final draft, opting for earnestness that smothers atmospheric dread.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flatten.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flatten. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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