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flatter

 - 11 dictionary results

flat⋅ter

1  [flat-er]
Use flatter in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to try to please by complimentary remarks or attention.
2. to praise or compliment insincerely, effusively, or excessively: She flatters him by constantly praising his books.
3. to represent favorably; gratify by falsification: The portrait flatters her.
4. to show to advantage: a hairstyle that flatters the face.
5. to play upon the vanity or susceptibilities of; cajole, wheedle, or beguile: They flattered him into contributing heavily to the foundation.
6. to please or gratify by compliments or attentions: I was flattered by their invitation.
7. to feel satisfaction with (oneself), esp. with reference to an accomplishment, act, or occasion: He flattered himself that the dinner had gone well.
8. to beguile with hope; encourage prematurely, falsely, etc.
–verb (used without object)
9. to use flattery.
Origin:
1175–1225; ME flat(t)eren to float, flutter, fawn upon, OE floterian to float, flutter; for sense development, cf. flicker 1 , ON flathra; reinforced by OF flatter to flatter, lit., to stroke, caress (prob. < Frankish *flat- flat 1 )

Related forms:
flat⋅ter⋅a⋅ble, adjective
flat⋅ter⋅er, noun
flat⋅ter⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

flat⋅ter

2  [flat-er]
–noun
1. a person or thing that makes something flat.
2. a flat-faced blacksmith's tool, laid on a forging and struck with a hammer to smooth the surface of the forging.
3. a drawplate with a flat orifice for drawing flat metal strips, as for watch springs.
Origin:
1705–15; flat 1 + -er 1

flat

1  [flat] adjective, flat⋅ter, flat⋅test, noun, verb, flat⋅ted, flat⋅ting, adverb
–adjective
1. horizontally level: a flat roof.
2. level, even, or without unevenness of surface, as land or tabletops.
3. having a surface that is without marked projections or depressions: a broad, flat face.
4. lying horizontally and at full length, as a person; prostrate: He was flat on the canvas after the knockdown.
5. lying wholly on or against something: The banner was flat against the wall.
6. thrown down, laid low, or level with the ground, as fallen trees or buildings.
7. having a generally level shape or appearance; not deep or thick: a flat plate.
8. (of the heel of a shoe) low and broad.
9. spread out, as an unrolled map or the open hand.
10. deflated; collapsed: a flat tire.
11. absolute, downright, or positive; without qualification: a flat denial.
12. without modification or variation: a flat rate.
13. Informal. lacking money; broke.
14. without vitality or animation; lifeless; dull: flat writing.
15. having lost its flavor, sharpness, or life, as wine or food; stale.
16. (of a beverage) having lost its effervescence.
17. without flavor; not spiced: flat cooking.
18. prosaic, banal, or insipid: a flat style.
19. pointless, as a remark or joke.
20. commercially inactive: a flat day in the stock market.
21. (of a painting) not having the illusion of volume or depth.
22. (of a photograph or painting) lacking contrast or gradations of tone or color.
23. (of paint) without gloss; not shiny; mat.
24. not clear, sharp, or ringing, as sound or a voice.
25. lacking resonance and variation in pitch; monotonous: a flat delivery of the speech.
26. Music.
a. (of a tone) lowered a half step in pitch: B flat.
b. below an intended pitch, as a note; too low (opposed to sharp ).
27. Grammar. derived without change in form, as English to brush from the noun brush and adverbs that do not add -ly to the adjective form as fast, cheap, and slow.
28. Phonetics. lenis; voiced.
29. Nautical. (of a sail)
a. cut with little or no fullness.
b. trimmed as nearly fore-and-aft as possible, for sailing to windward.
30. flat a, the a-sound (a) of glad, bat, or act.
–noun
31. something flat.
32. a shoe, esp. a woman's shoe, with a flat heel or no heel.
33. a flat surface, side, or part of anything: He struck me with the flat of his hand.
34. flat or level ground; a flat area: salt flats.
35. a marsh, shoal, or shallow.
36. Music.
a. (in musical notation) the character ♭, which when attached to a note or to a staff degree lowers its significance one chromatic half step.
b. a tone one chromatic half step below another: The flat of B is B flat.
c. (on keyboard instruments, with reference to any given note) the key next below or to the left.
37. Theater. a piece of scenery consisting of a wooden frame, usually rectangular, covered with lightweight board or fabric.
38. a broad, thin book, chiefly for children: a juvenile flat.
39. Informal. a deflated automobile tire.
40. (in postal use) a large flat package, as in a manila envelope, for mailing.
41. Architecture. a flat roof or deck.
42. Nautical.
a. Also called platform. a partial deck between two full decks.
b. a low, flat barge or lighter.
43. Shipbuilding.
a. a broad, flat piece of iron or steel for overlapping and joining two plates at their edges.
b. a straight timber in a frame or other assembly of generally curved timbers.
44. an iron or steel bar of rectangular cross section.
45. Textiles. one of a series of laths covered with card clothing, used in conjunction with the cylinder in carding.
46. Photography. one or more negatives or positives in position to be reproduced.
47. Printing. a device for holding a negative or positive flat for reproduction by photoengraving.
48. Horticulture. a shallow, lidless box or tray used for rooting seeds and cuttings and for growing young plants.
49. a similar box used for shipping and selling fruits and vegetables.
50. Football. the area of the field immediately inside of or outside of an offensive end, close behind or at the line of scrimmage.
51. flats, Informal. flat races between horses. Compare flat race.
–verb (used with object)
52. to make flat.
53. Music. to lower (a pitch), esp. one half step.
–verb (used without object)
54. to become flat.
–adverb
55. in a flat position; horizontally; levelly.
56. in a flat manner; positively; absolutely.
57. completely; utterly: flat broke.
58. exactly; precisely: She ran around the track in two minutes flat.
59. Music. below the true pitch: to sing flat.
60. Finance. without interest.
—Verb phrase
61. flat in, Nautical. to pull the clew of (a fore-and-aft sail) as nearly amidships as possible. Also, flatten in.
—Idioms
62. fall flat, to fail to produce the desired effect; fail completely: His attempts at humor fell flat.
63. flat aft, Nautical. trimmed so that fore-and-aft sails present as flat a surface as possible, as in sailing close to the wind.
64. flat on one's back. back (def. 19).
65. flat out, Informal.
a. without hesitation; directly or openly: He told us flat out he'd been a double agent.
b. at full speed or with maximum effort.
Origin:
1275–1325; ME < ON flatr, akin to OE flet (see flat 2 ), Gk platýs (see platy-, plate 1

Related forms:
flatly, adverb
flatness, noun

Synonyms:
1. plane. See level. 4. low, prone. 11. outright, peremptory, categorical. 14. boring, spiritless, prosaic. 17. vapid, unsavory.

Antonyms:
1, 4. upright, vertical. 14. spirited. 17. savory.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To flatter
flat 1   (flāt)   
adj.   flat·ter, flat·test

  1. Having a horizontal surface without a slope, tilt, or curvature.

  2. Having a smooth, even, level surface: a skirt sewed with fine flat seams.

  3. Having a relatively broad surface in relation to thickness or depth: a flat board. See Synonyms at level.

  4. Stretched out or lying at full length along the ground; prone.

  5. Free of qualification; absolute: a flat refusal.

  6. Fixed; unvarying: a flat rate.

  7. Lacking interest or excitement; dull: a flat scenario.

    1. Lacking in flavor: a flat stew that needs salt.

    2. Having lost effervescence or sparkle: flat beer.

    3. Deflated. Used of a tire.

    4. Electrically discharged. Used of a storage battery.

    5. Being below the correct pitch.

    6. Being one half step lower than the corresponding natural key: the key of B flat.

    1. Deflated. Used of a tire.

    2. Electrically discharged. Used of a storage battery.

    3. Being below the correct pitch.

    4. Being one half step lower than the corresponding natural key: the key of B flat.

  10. Of or relating to a horizontal line that displays no ups or downs and signifies the absence of physiological activity: A flat electroencephalogram indicates a loss of brain function.

  11. Commercially inactive; sluggish: flat sales for the month.

  12. Unmodulated; monotonous: a flat voice.

  13. Lacking variety in tint or shading; uniform: "The sky was bright but flat, the color of oyster shells" (Anne Tyler).

  14. Not glossy; mat: flat paint.

  15. Music

    1. Being below the correct pitch.

    2. Being one half step lower than the corresponding natural key: the key of B flat.

  16. Designating the vowel a as pronounced in bad or cat.

  17. Nautical Taut. Used of a sail.

adv.  

    1. Level with the ground; horizontally.

    2. On or up against a flat surface; at full length.

    3. Directly; completely: went flat against the rules; flat broke.

    4. Exactly; precisely: arrived in six minutes flat.

  2. So as to be flat.

    1. Directly; completely: went flat against the rules; flat broke.

    2. Exactly; precisely: arrived in six minutes flat.

  4. Music Below the intended pitch.

  5. Business Without interest charge.

n.  

  1. A flat surface or part.

  2. A stretch of level ground. Often used in the plural: salt flats.

  3. A shallow frame or box for seeds or seedlings.

  4. A movable section of stage scenery, usually consisting of a wooden frame and a decorated panel of wood or cloth.

  5. A flatcar.

  6. A deflated tire.

  7. A shoe with a flat heel.

  8. A large flat piece of mail.

  9. A horse that competes in a flat race. Also called runner.

  10. Music

    1. A sign (♭) used to indicate that a note is to be lowered by a half step.

    2. A note that is lowered a half step.

  11. Football The area of the field to either side of an offensive formation.

v.   flat·ted, flat·ting, flats

v.   tr.

  1. To make flat; flatten.

  2. Music To lower (a note) a semitone.

v.   intr. Music
To sing or play below the proper pitch.

[Middle English, from Old Norse flatr; see plat- in Indo-European roots.]
flat'ly adv., flat'ness n.
flat·ter 1   (flāt'ər)   
v.   flat·tered, flat·ter·ing, flat·ters

v.   tr.

  1. To compliment excessively and often insincerely, especially in order to win favor.

  2. To please or gratify the vanity of: "What really flatters a man is that you think him worth flattering" (George Bernard Shaw).

    1. To portray favorably: a photograph that flatters its subject.

    2. To show off becomingly or advantageously.

v.   intr.
To practice flattery.

[Middle English flateren, from Old French flater, of Germanic origin; see plat- in Indo-European roots.]
flat'ter·er n., flat'ter·ing·ly adv.
flat·ter 2   (flāt'ər)   
n.  

  1. A flat-faced swage or hammer used by blacksmiths.

  2. A die plate for flattening metal into strips, as in the manufacture of watch springs.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

flat  (adj.)
c.1320, from O.N. flatr, from P.Gmc. *flataz (cf. O.H.G. flaz "flat, level," O.E. flet, O.H.G. flezzi "floor"), perhaps from PIE *pla- (cf. Gk. platys "broad, flat;" see place (n.)). Sense of "prosaic, dull" is from 1573; used of drink from 1607; of musical notes from 1591, because the tone is "lowered." Flatfish is from 1710. Flat-footed "unprepared" is 1912 U.S. baseball slang, on notion of "not on one's toes; earlier it meant "straightforwardly" (1828), from notion of "standing firmly." Flat-out (adv.) "openly, directly" is from 1932; earlier it was a noun meaning "total failure" (1870, U.S. colloquial). Flatware is distinguished from hollow ware.

flatter 
c.1225, from O.Fr. flater "to flatter," originally "stroke with the hand, caress," from Frank. *flat "palm, flat of the hand" (see flat (adj.)).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Financial Dictionary

flat

  1. Of, relating to, or being a market maker's inventory position that is neither long nor short; that is, the inventory is zero.

  2. Of, relating to, or being a bond that trades without accrued interest. For example, bonds of a company in bankruptcy proceedings trade flat. A bond trading flat is indicated in bond transaction tables by the symbol f.


Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms by David L. Scott.
Copyright © 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: flat
Function: adverb
: without interest charge; especially : without allowance or charge for accrued interest flat>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: flat
Pronunciation: 'flat
Function: adjective
Inflected Forms: flat·ter; flat·test
1 : being orcharacterized by a horizontal line or tracing without peaks or depressions flat indicating that her brain function is gone —Don Gold>
2 : characterized by general impoverishment in the presence of emotion-evoking stimuli <flat affect often occurs in schizophrenia> —flat·ness noun
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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