as in unctuously
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of flatteringly
Modestly cut and flatteringly designed, this short set is elegant enough to wear from day to night.
—
Alexandra Emanuelli, Southern Living, 4 Mar. 2026
The high elastic waistband flatteringly cinches without pinching, according to one shopper, and the baggy wide-leg design gives your legs room to move through long airport lines and eight-hour workdays.
—Chaise Sanders, Travel + Leisure, 22 Oct. 2025
Alexandra Emanuelli, Southern Living, 4 Mar. 2026
The high elastic waistband flatteringly cinches without pinching, according to one shopper, and the baggy wide-leg design gives your legs room to move through long airport lines and eight-hour workdays.
—Chaise Sanders, Travel + Leisure, 22 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flatteringly
Adverb
-
In my experience, moisturizers for dry skin tend to be unctuously thick, which can trigger breakouts, while those made for oily skin are often too light to make a difference.—
Jacqueline Kilikita,
Refinery29,
22 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Fidesz, whose popularity dropped sharply in the aftermath of the passage of the new constitution, was reëlected with parliamentary super-majorities in the next two elections, in 2014 and 2018, despite receiving less than fifty per cent of the vote.—
Kapil Komireddi,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2026
-
The culprit is volatile oil and jet fuel prices, which have spiked sharply since the war in the Middle East began and fighting near the narrow Strait of Hormuz created a chokepoint for global oil supplies.—
Rio Yamat,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Apr. 2026
Adverb
-
The Chinese delayed their retaliation for a while and then, very cunningly, took disproportionate revenge on Canada, recognizing Canada as the weaker link, who got less from the tariffs and were more exposed.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
4 Feb. 2026
-
Instead of kings and queens cunningly maneuvering their armies against their enemies, there’s only an ox of a man and a bald little boy, neither of whom exhibits a clearly superior intellect.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
13 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
The show, which followed a crooked New Mexican lawyer, played by Bob Odenkirk, was an archly funny drama, shot partly in gritty black-and-white.—
Rachel Syme,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Much as Wes Anderson and Yorgos Lanthimos have plumbed Dafoe’s deliciously wicked sense of humor in pieces that straddle the line between the real and the archly stylized, Solnicki understands that a strong Dafoe performance must always teeter between the two.—
Manuel Betancourt,
Variety,
28 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
While noirs, of course, critique the crumbling American Dream, Rivera slyly comments on politics.—
Sammy Loren,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Mar. 2026
-
And Reilly is aces at playing aw-shucks-who-me innocence while Gary enjoys the best of both worlds, as his friend Eric slyly points out during a dinner party.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
Some players struggled against the size of bigger and stronger players, while others craftily created space with deft footwork and manipulation.—
Devin Robertson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Aug. 2025
Adverb
-
Often nearly invisible to the naked eye, microplastics have insidiously found their way into people’s lungs, arterial plaques and brains through food, air and water, researchers have found.—
Kate Nishimura,
Footwear News,
7 Apr. 2026
-
His dramas set domestic conflicts against the backdrop of societal systems that insidiously warp the playing field for their characters.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Apr. 2026
Adverb
-
Unlike Monday's burial for Princess Irene, which follows a Saturday prayer service in Madrid and a funeral Monday at Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens, the Tatoi interment for Sofia's mother, Queen Federica of Greece, was not official, and took place almost furtively.—
Diego Parrado,
Vanity Fair,
18 Jan. 2026
-
This has become the central theme of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City—probably the most chaotic show in its franchise—whose characters are always trying to root out which of their frenemies is furtively digging up dirt and spreading rumors about their legal or financial woes.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
5 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flatteringly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flatteringly. Accessed 10 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
