# flatter

Pronunciation: US say "FLAT-ur" /ˈflætɚ/; UK say "FLAT-uh" /ˈflætə/

## Verb

1. To compliment someone, often insincerely and sometimes in order to win their favor.
   - Simple: To say nice things about someone, sometimes just to please them or to get a favor.
   - _The new intern tried to flatter every manager in the office._
   - _He flattered the host all evening, angling for an invitation to the next party._
2. To portray or present someone in a way that shows them to advantage.
   - Simple: To show or describe someone in a way that makes them look better than they really are.
   - _The soft evening lighting flattered every guest at the reception._
   - _Well-tailored suits flatter most body types._
3. To gratify someone's vanity by praising them.
   - Simple: To praise someone so that they feel proud and pleased with themselves.
   - _The salesman flattered her taste until she felt like a true expert._
   - _Aides flatter powerful people to keep them feeling important._
5. To please oneself with a belief or perception, especially one that turns out to be mistaken; to congratulate oneself.
   - Simple: To make yourself believe something good about yourself, even when it may not be true.
   - _He flattered himself that the promotion was already his._
   - _We flatter ourselves that our methods are the best in the field._
6. To give someone hope, usually false, and thereby encourage them or raise their spirits.
   - Simple: To give someone hope or encouragement, often hope that is not real.
   - _The recruiter flattered the graduates with promises of rapid advancement._
   - _Politicians flatter voters with promises they cannot keep._

## Adjective

4. Comparative of flat. — comparative form of flat: more flat
   - Simple: Comparative of flat. Use this when one thing is more flat than another.
   - _The landscape grew flatter the farther east we drove._
   - _Her front tire looked flatter than it had that morning._

## Noun

7. A person or thing that flattens something, whether on purpose or by accident.
   - Simple: A person or thing that makes something flat, on purpose or by accident.
   - _In the workshop, the new flatter compressed each metal panel evenly._
   - _The clumsy intern proved an accidental flatter, crushing the box in transit._
8. Someone who rents a flat, or apartment, and lives in it. *(slang, British, New Zealand)*
   - Simple: A person who lives in a rented flat, or apartment.
   - _Each flatter in the building chips in for the cleaning._
   - _She became a flatter in Camden after finishing university._
9. A blacksmith's set tool with a flat face, used to smooth and finish the surface of worked metal.
   - Simple: A flat metal tool that blacksmiths use to smooth the surface of hot iron.
   - _The smith held the flatter against the bar and struck it level._
   - _A heavy flatter helped finish the broad flat sides of the blade._
10. A fulling hammer with a flat face, used to beat cloth during the fulling process.
   - Simple: A hammer with a flat face, used to beat and thicken cloth.
   - _The fuller struck the soaked cloth repeatedly with a heavy flatter._
   - _Each flatter in the mill pounded the wool to felt the fibers together._
11. A drawplate with a narrow, rectangular opening, used to draw metal into flat strips such as watch springs.
   - Simple: A metal plate with a thin rectangular hole, used to pull metal into flat strips.
   - _The springmaker drew the steel through a flatter to get an even ribbon._
   - _Each flatter in the shop produced strips of a slightly different width._

## Verb

12. To encourage or inspire with hope, used in the construction flatter with. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To fill someone with hope, often hope that turns out to be false.

## Origin

**Meaning 4** — This is the comparative form of "flat," made with "flat" plus the comparative suffix "-er." Compare Icelandic "flatari" ("more flat").
**Meanings 1–3, 5–6, 12** — From Middle English "flatteren, flateren" ("to flutter, float, fawn over"), probably a conflation of Old English "floterian" ("to flutter, float, be disquieted") and Old Norse "flaðra" ("to fawn on someone, flatter"). It was also associated with Middle French "flatter" ("to flatter, to caress with the flat of the hand"), from Old French "flater" ("to deceive by concealing the truth, to stroke with the palm of the hand"), ultimately from a Frankish word for the palm or flat of the hand.
**Meanings 7, 9–11** — From the verb "flat" ("to make flat, flatten") plus the agent suffix "-er."
**Meaning 8** — From "flat" ("dwelling, apartment") plus the residency suffix "-er."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/flatter (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).