What does flattery mean?
Definitions for flattery
ˈflæt ə riflat·te·ry
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word flattery.
Princeton's WordNet
flatterynoun
excessive or insincere praise
Wiktionary
flatterynoun
Excessive praise or approval, which is often insincere and sometimes contrived to win favour.
flatterynoun
An instance of excessive praise.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
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.
Wikipedia
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.
ChatGPT
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 Dictionary
Flatteryverb
the act or practice of flattering; the act of pleasing by artiful commendation or compliments; adulation; false, insincere, or excessive praise
Wikidata
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 Wurdz
FLATTERY
Cologne water, to be smelled of but not swallowed.
Surnames Frequency by Census Records
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
Usage in printed sourcesFrom:
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Anagrams for flattery »
flat tyre
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of flattery in Chaldean Numerology is: 1
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of flattery in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8
Examples of flattery in a Sentence
New Yorkers aren't stupid and they certainly won't fall for Ted Cruz's lame soliloquies and flattery after he slammed their values.
Between flattery and admiration there often flows a river of contempt.
Leadership is not magnetic personality--that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not 'making friends and influencing people'--that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person's vision to higher sights, the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.
To ask advice is in nine cases out of ten to tout for flattery.
My passport photo is one of the most remarkable photographs I have ever seen --- no retouching, no shadows, no flattery --- just stark me.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for flattery
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- الإطراءArabic
- ласкателствоBulgarian
- lichocení, pochlebování, lichotkaCzech
- Geschmeichel, Schmeichelei, Schmus, SchöntuereiGerman
- piropo, zalamería, flor, peloteo, adulación, requiebro, camelo, halago, lisonjaSpanish
- mielistely, imarteluFinnish
- flatterieFrench
- spleá, spleáchasIrish
- hízelgésHungarian
- sanjunganIndonesian
- lusinga, salamelecchiItalian
- meilikavimasLithuanian
- vleierijDutch
- pochlebstwoPolish
- bajulação, lisonjaPortuguese
- lingușireRomanian
- подхали́мство, лестьRussian
- flätVolapük
Get even more translations for flattery »
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"flattery." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 24 Oct. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/flattery>.
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