Definitions for Flattery
ˈflæt ə riflat·te·ry

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:4.0 / 5 votes

1. flatterynoun

   excessive or insincere praise

WiktionaryRate this definition:4.5 / 2 votes

1. flatterynoun

   Excessive praise or approval, which is often insincere and sometimes contrived to win favour.

2. flatterynoun

   An instance of excessive praise.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Flatterynoun

   False praise; artful obsequiousness; adulation.

   Etymology: from flatter; flaterie, French.

   Minds, by nature great, are conscious of their greatness,
   And hold it mean to borrow aught from flattery. Nicholas Rowe.

   Simple pride for flatt’ry makes demands. Alexander Pope.

   See how they beg an alms of flattery!
   They languish, O! support them with a lye. Edward Young.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Flattery

   Flattery (also called adulation or blandishment) is the act of giving excessive compliments, generally for the purpose of ingratiating oneself with the subject. It is also used in pick-up lines when attempting to initiate sexual or romantic courtship. Historically, flattery has been used as a standard form of discourse when addressing a king or queen. In the Renaissance, it was a common practice among writers to flatter the reigning monarch, as Edmund Spenser flattered Queen Elizabeth I in The Faerie Queene, William Shakespeare flattered King James I in Macbeth and Niccolò Machiavelli flattered Lorenzo II de' Medici in The Prince. Many associations with flattery, however, are negative. Negative descriptions of flattery range at least as far back in history as the Bible. In the Divine Comedy, Dante depicts flatterers wading in human excrement, stating that their words were the equivalent of excrement, in the second bolgia of 8th Circle of Hell. An insincere flatterer is a stock character in many literary works. Examples include Wormtongue from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Goneril and Regan from King Lear, and Iago from Othello.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. flattery

   Flattery is the act of giving excessive, insincere or exaggerated compliments to someone, often for the purpose of gaining their favor, approval, or to achieve a personal gain. It typically involves praising or complimenting someone beyond what is deserved or accurate, often with the aim of manipulating the person's opinions or decisions.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:4.0 / 1 vote

1. Flatteryverb

   the act or practice of flattering; the act of pleasing by artiful commendation or compliments; adulation; false, insincere, or excessive praise

WikidataRate this definition:4.0 / 2 votes

1. Flattery

   Flattery is the act of giving excessive compliments, generally for the purpose of ingratiating oneself with the subject. Historically, flattery has been used as a standard form of discourse when addressing a king or queen. In the Renaissance, it was a common practice among writers to flatter the reigning monarch, as Edmund Spenser flattered Queen Elizabeth I in The Faerie Queene, William Shakespeare flattered King James I in Macbeth and Niccolò Machiavelli flattered Lorenzo II de' Medici, ruler of Florence and Duke of Urbino, in The Prince. Flattery is also used in pick-up lines when attempting to initiate romantic courtship. Most associations with flattery, however, are negative. Negative descriptions of flattery range at least as far back in history as The Bible. In the Divine Comedy, Dante depicts flatterers wading in human excrement, stating that their words were the equivalent of excrement, in the 8th Circle of Hell. An insincere flatterer is a stock character in many literary works. Examples include Wormtongue from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Goneril and Regan from King Lear, and Iago from Othello. Historians and philosophers have paid attention to flattery as a problem in ethics and politics. Plutarch wrote an essay on "How to Tell a Flatterer from a Friend." Julius Caesar was notorious for his flattery. In his Praise of Folly, Erasmus commended flattery because it "raises downcast spirits, comforts the sad, rouses the apathetic, stirs up the stolid, cheers the sick, restrains the headstrong, brings lovers together and keeps them united."

The Foolish Dictionary, by Gideon WurdzRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. FLATTERY

   Cologne water, to be smelled of but not swallowed.

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. FLATTERY

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Flattery is ranked #33596 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Flattery surname appeared 678 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Flattery.
   
   95.8% or 650 total occurrences were White.
   1.6% or 11 total occurrences were of two or more races.
   1.3% or 9 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.

Matched Categories

1. • Compliment

Anagrams for Flattery »

1. flat tyre

How to pronounce Flattery?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say Flattery in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of Flattery in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of Flattery in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of Flattery in a Sentence

1. Unknown:

   The best way to sell yourself to others is first to sell the others to yourself. Check yourself against this list of obstacles to a pleasing personality interrupting others sarcasm vanity being a poor listener insincere flattery finding fault challenging others without good cause giving unsolicited advice complaining attitude of superiority envy of others' success poor posture and dress.

2. Fulton John Sheen:

   Baloney is the unvarnished lie laid on so thick you hate it. Blarney is flattery laid on so thin you love it.

3. Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince:

   There is no other way of guarding oneself against flattery than by letting men understand that they will not offend you by speaking the truth; but when everyone can tell you the truth, you lose their respect.

4. Isaac Mashman:

   Admiration isn’t flattery. Admiration is showing earned respect.

5. Niccolo Machiavelli:

   There is no other way of guarding oneself against flattery than by letting men understand that they will not offend you by speaking the truth but when everyone can tell you the truth, you lose their respect.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=Flattery
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Flattery
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=Flattery
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flattery
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Flattery
7. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=Flattery
8. ^ The Foolish Dictionary, by Gideon Wurdz
   https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1989/pg1989-images.html#:~:text=Flattery
9. ^ Surnames Frequency by Census Records
   https://www.census.gov/topics/population/genealogy/data/2010_surnames.html