flatter
part of speech
verb (flatter, flatters, flattered, flattering); adjective (flatter — comparative of flat)
meaning for a pupil
1) (verb) To praise someone too much, often not sincerely, to please them or get something. tree →
2) (verb) To make someone look better than usual: «That colour flatters you». tree →
3) (verb) «be flattered»: feel pleased because someone admired you. tree →
4) (adjective) More flat; more level or smooth. tree →
sense in the lessons
In stories, a sly character flatters the king to get a reward (like the fox in the fable «The Fox and the Crow»). In everyday life: «I'm flattered you asked me». In geography and maths: «flatter land», «this side is flatter».
examples
- The fox flattered the crow so she would drop the cheese. tree →
- Don't try to flatter me — you still have to tidy up. tree →
- I was flattered when they asked me to sing. tree →
- That dress really flatters you. tree →
- The fields here are flatter than in the hills. tree →
- Press it down to make it flatter. tree →
- He flattered the teacher to get extra time. tree →
- Such a neatly turned compliment flattered Ludovine. tree →
note
Two different words: flatter (praise) and flatter (more flat). Noun: flattery (too much praise). Adjective: flattering. Being flattered is pleasant, but flattery can be a trick.
In the corpora
- Bots tend to flatter; praise from a bot that has not seen your work tells you nothing.
- What you learned is for helping people understand, check and learn, never for tricking or flattering them.
- The Cat flatters her: she is wise and beautiful and should not be cruel.
- Ruby felt flattered — someone was interested in her! — and also a small cold feeling in her tummy.
- "Those who flatter their neighbours are spreading nets for their feet" (Proverbs 29:5); empty praise can make people overconfident.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «flatter» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.