What does "flatter" mean?
A type of set tool used by blacksmiths.
Flatter
/ˈflætɚ/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A type of set tool used by blacksmiths.
- Grammar: flatter is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: puff, adorn, adulate, adulate.
- Useful contrasts: galling, barbing, barbs.
- Usage evidence: You don't need to flatter your boss.
How to use "flatter"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "flatter" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "flatter" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "flatter" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "flatter" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "flatter" is acting as adj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "puff" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "flatter", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A type of set tool used by blacksmiths. ambitransitive
- 2 Someone who lives in a rented flat. British, New-Zealand, ambitransitive, slang
- 3 A flat-faced fulling hammer. ambitransitive
- 4 A drawplate with a narrow, rectangular orifice, for drawing flat strips such as watch springs. ambitransitive
- 5 Someone who flattens, purposely or accidentally. Also flattener. ambitransitive
Verb
- 1 To compliment someone, often (but not necessarily) insincerely and sometimes to win favour. ambitransitive
"A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet."
- 2 praise somewhat dishonestly wordnet
- 3 To enhance or gratify someone's vanity by praising them. ambitransitive
- 4 To portray someone to advantage. ambitransitive
"Her portrait flatters her."
- 5 To encourage or cheer someone with (usually false) hope. ambitransitive
"[…] I went up, and sat there two Hours and an half before I cou’d discern any Thing like Land; and when I first saw it I told my Comrade, but not being certain I wou’d not call out; for the Case was of such Importance, that they were not to be trifled with, or flatter’d into vain Hopes."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 To cheer or please (with the idea that); congratulate oneself, especially when the perception is false. ambitransitive, reflexive, usually
"Before the results came out, I flattered myself that I had done well on the test. It turned out I was the worst in the class!"
- 7 To cheer or please (with the idea that); congratulate oneself, especially when the perception is false.; In phrasal verb "to flatter with": to encourage, inspire with hope. ambitransitive, intransitive, obsolete, reflexive, usually
"Run after that ſame peeuiſh Meſſenger / The Countes man: he left this Ring behinde him / Would I, or not: tell him, Ile none of it. / Deſire him not to flatter with his Lord, / Nor hold him vp with hopes, I am not for him:"
Adjective
- 1 comparative form of flat: more flat comparative, form-of
Example
"You don't need to flatter your boss."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "flatter"?
Common synonyms include: puff, adorn, adulate, adulate, adulated, adulates.
How do you use "flatter" in a sentence?
You don't need to flatter your boss.
How do you pronounce "flatter"?
Pronounced /ˈflætɚ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From flat + -er (comparative suffix). Compare Icelandic flatari (“flatter, more flat”).
Etymology 2
*From Middle English flatteren, flateren (“to flutter, float, fawn over”), probably a conflation of Old English floterian, flotorian (“to flutter, float, be disquieted”), from Proto-West Germanic *flotrōn, from Proto-Germanic *flutrōną (“to be floating”), from Proto-Indo-European *plewd- (“to flow, swim”), equivalent to float + -er; and Old Norse flaðra (“to fawn on someone, flatter”), from Proto-Germanic *flaþrōną (“to fawn over, flutter”), from Proto-Indo-European *peled- (“moisture, wetness”), *pel- (“to gush, pour out, fill, flow, swim, fly”). Cognate with Scots flatter, flotter (“to float; splash; cover with liquid”), Middle Dutch flatteren (“to embellish, flatter, caress”), German flattern (“to flutter”). *The word was also falsely 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”), from Frankish *flat (“palm, flat of the hand”), from Proto-Germanic *flatą, *flatō (“palm, sole”), from *flataz (“flat”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂-, *pleh₂- (“flat, broad, plain”); related to 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.
Etymology 3
From flat (“to make flat, flatten”) + -er (agent suffix).
Etymology 4
From flat (“dwelling, apartment”) + -er (residency suffix).