Flatter Definition

flătər
flattered, flattering, flatters
verb
flattered, flattering, flatters
To praise too much, untruly, or insincerely, as in order to win favor.
Webster's New World
To try to please, or ingratiate oneself with, by praise and attention.
Webster's New World
To use flattery.
Webster's New World
To make feel pleased or honored; gratify the vanity of.
It's flattering to be remembered.
Webster's New World
To make seem better or more attractive than is so.
His portrait flatters him.
Webster's New World
noun
flatters
A person who flattens something.
Webster's New World
A flat-faced swage or hammer used by blacksmiths.
American Heritage
A drawplate for forming flat strips.
Webster's New World
A die plate for flattening metal into strips, as in the manufacture of watch springs.
American Heritage
A smith's forging tool with a broad, flat face.
Webster's New World
adjective
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
idiom
flatter oneself
  • to hold the self-satisfying or self-deluding belief (that)
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Flatter

Noun

Singular:
flatter
Plural:
flatters

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Flatter

  • flatter oneself

Origin of Flatter

  • From 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”), from Frankish *flat (“palm, flat of the hand”), from Proto-Germanic *flatą, *flatō (“palm, sole”), *flataz (“flat”), from Proto-Indo-European *plÁt-, *pele-, *plet-, *plāk- (“flat, broad, plain”). Cognate with Old High German flazza (“palm, flat of the hand”), Old High German flaz (“level, flat”), Old Saxon flat (“flat”), Old Norse flatr (“flat”) (whence English flat), Old Frisian flet, flette (“dwelling, house”), Old English flet, flett (“ground floor, dwelling”). More at flat.

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English flateren from Old French flater of Germanic origin plat- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • flat +‎ -er

    From Wiktionary

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