flatterverb [ T ]
uk/ˈflæt.ər/us/ˈflæt̬.ɚ/to praise someone in order to make them feel attractive or important, sometimes in a way that is not sincere:
I knew he was only flattering me because he wanted to borrow some money.
flatter yourself
to believe something good about yourself although it might not be true:
[ + that ] Steve flatters himself that he's an excellent speaker.
flatter to deceive
to give the appearance of being better than the true situation:
I suspect these statistics flatter to deceive.
be/feel flattered
to feel very pleased and proud because someone has said good things about you or has made you feel important:
She was flattered by his attention.
They were flattered to be invited to dinner by the mayor.
We felt flattered that so many people came to our party.
to make someone look more attractive than usual:
That new hairstyle really flatters her.
Short skirts don't flatter me at all.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Praising insincerely or too eagerly
- arse-licker
- bow and scrape idiom
- brown-nose
- crawler
- creep
- fawn
- flattery
- flattery will get you nowhere idiom
- glad-handing
- grovel
- idealize
- left-handed compliment
- massage
- massage sb's ego idiom
- obsequious
- play up to sb
- schmooze
- slobber
- toady
- unctuous
See more results »
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Showing arrogance and conceit
Exaggerating & playing down
Taking pleasure in something
Decorating or making something attractive