flatter
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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to try to please by complimentary remarks or attention.
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to praise or compliment insincerely, effusively, or excessively.
She flatters him by constantly praising his books.
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to represent favorably; gratify by falsification.
The portrait flatters her.
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to show to advantage.
a hairstyle that flatters the face.
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to play upon the vanity or susceptibilities of; cajole, wheedle, or beguile.
They flattered him into contributing heavily to the foundation.
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to please or gratify by compliments or attentions.
I was flattered by their invitation.
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to feel satisfaction with (oneself), especially with reference to an accomplishment, act, or occasion.
He flattered himself that the dinner had gone well.
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to beguile with hope; encourage prematurely, falsely, etc.
verb (used without object)
noun
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a person or thing that makes something flat.
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a flat-faced blacksmith's tool, laid on a forging and struck with a hammer to smooth the surface of the forging.
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a drawplate with a flat orifice for drawing flat metal strips, as for watch springs.
verb
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to praise insincerely, esp in order to win favour or reward
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to show to advantage
that dress flatters her
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(tr) to make to appear more attractive, etc, than in reality
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to play upon or gratify the vanity of (a person)
it flatters her to be remembered
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(tr) to beguile with hope; encourage, esp falsely
this success flattered him into believing himself a champion
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(tr) to congratulate or deceive (oneself)
I flatter myself that I am the best
noun
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a blacksmith's tool, resembling a flat-faced hammer, that is placed on forged work and struck to smooth the surface of the forging
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a die with a narrow rectangular orifice for drawing flat sections
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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flattersimple
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flatterssimple
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have flatteredperfect
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has flatteredperfect
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are flatteringprogressive
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am flatteringprogressive
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is flatteringprogressive
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have been flatteringperfect progressive
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has been flatteringperfect progressive
Past
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flatteredsimple
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had flatteredperfect
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was flatteringprogressive
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were flatteringprogressive
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had been flatteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of flatter1
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English flat(t)eren “to float, flutter, fawn upon,” Old English floterian “to float, flutter”; for sense development, cf. flicker 1, Old Norse flathra; reinforced by Old French flatter “to flatter,” literally, “to stroke, caress” (probably from unattested Frankish flat- flat 1 )
Origin of flatter2
Explanation
When you flatter someone, you praise and compliment him or her — but you aren't totally sincere. You flatter your friend by telling her she's the best driver in the world. Because you want her to offer you a ride. The Old French flater originally meant "to stroke or caress," which is what you do to people's egos when you flatter them. When you flatter, you probably want something — it could be as simple as wanting someone to like you. That's why people who meet celebrities tell them they're the greatest. More positively, if your hairstyle flatters your face, it emphasizes your best features.
Vocabulary lists containing flatter
Dead End in Norvelt
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The Landry News
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Inherit the Wind
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This is the creation of Ron Flatter, the managing editor of the website Horse Racing Nation.
From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2023
Rogers and Tim Ritvo, the company’s COO, were on a boondoggle at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris, where Flatter ran into Rogers, who agreed to be on his podcast.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 12, 2019
Flatter are the Polish artist Piotr Uklanski’s reproduced stills from “Olympia,” Leni Riefenstahl’s notorious Nazi propaganda film.
From New York Times • Apr. 9, 2017
Musburger sat in the middle of a desk, flanked by co-host Ron Flatter and looking into five television screens above a gaggle of producers and assistants.
From Washington Post • Mar. 14, 2017
Then he would see me, ere he went to fight: Flatter me not: If once he goes, he's lost, And all my hopes destroyed.
From The works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 05 by Scott, Walter, Sir
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
