unflattering

British  

/ ʌnˈflætərɪŋ /

adjective

1. not flattering

   in an unflattering light

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Explanation

Unflattering things make you look bad, like an unflattering photograph your dad takes while you're eating a cheeseburger or the unflattering review of your band's first concert. If the light is unflattering, it'll make people look tired or pale, or cast strange shadows that cause pictures you take of them to look terrible. An unflattering movie review makes the film sound boring or badly acted. When something is flattering, it compliments someone, or shows a person or a thing in its very best light, from the Old French root flater, "caress." Add the "not" prefix un-, and you get unflattering.

Example Sentences

The NFL isn’t likely to sanction unflattering content, at least not much of it, yet the goal is to make the stories as realistic as possible.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 27, 2026

Those who benefit from misinformation can easily exploit this -- a phenomenon researchers call the "liar's dividend," where genuine but unflattering information is waved away as AI-generated.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

He knows that “Marty Supreme” holds an unflattering mirror up to his own drive and allows that to become its own backhanded compliment to the thrill of watching an actor chase success at all costs.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026

The series is certainly an unflattering look at academia, but the cheap shots are pretty cheap, considering all the current acrimony surrounding higher education and the cartoonish way it’s so often portrayed.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

Long before he even suspected who Henry Fonda was, he found himself the subject of unflattering comparisons everywhere he went.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

Related Words

• harsh
• insulting