flattery
/ˈflat(ə)ri
/noun (plural flatteries) [mass noun]
Excessive and insincere praise, given especially to further one’s own interests: she allowed no hint of flattery to enter her voice...
- Why people comment me with such flatteries, I cannot think!
- As I expected, no man could resist my puppy charms for long - especially when combined with ego-stroking flatteries.
- They continued to walk along in the garden, Mack enchanting her with his flatteries and humorous stories about himself that he made up on the spot.
Synonyms
praise, adulation, compliments, blandishments, admiration, honeyed words, pats on the back;
fawning, simpering, puffery, blarney, cajolery, wheedling
informal sweet talk, soft soap, spiel, buttering up, cosying up, toadying, currying favour, weasel words
British informal flannel
British vulgar slang arse-kissing, arse-licking
North American vulgar slang brown-nosing, ass-kissing, ass-licking
rare laudation
Origin
Middle English: from Old French flaterie, from flater 'stroke, flatter', probably of Germanic origin and related to flat1.