flatter

“flatter”主要表示“更平”，也可作动词表示用夸奖使人高兴、讨好，或使某人的形象显得更好；作名词时还有少数专门工具和英国俚语义。

💡 记忆钩子

核心画面是“把东西压平、把人的心情抚平”：表面变得更平，是“更平”；用好听的话把人的自尊心托起来，是“奉承、讨好”；好的画像或衣服让人看起来更好，也是在“抬高形象”。

📝 学习建议

先掌握形容词“更平”和动词“奉承、使显得更好”两个常用义，再记专门工具义和英国俚语义。
动词通常不只是中性地“称赞”，还常带有讨好或不真诚的意味；不要把所有称赞都直接理解为“奉承”。
注意“flatter oneself”常表示自以为是、对自己抱有过高或不切实际的看法。

📖 中文释义

adj

core 更平的

📖 表示某个表面、形状或物体比另一个更平，凸起或起伏更少。

💡 常用句型“ A is flatter than B”，也可说“a flatter surface”。不要把它误解成“更无聊”；表示无聊时也可用“flat”，但要根据上下文判断。

comparative form-of

This road is flatter than the old mountain path.

这条路比那条旧山路平坦。

noun

rare 整平工具

📖 指铁匠用来把金属加工得更平的一类工具。

ambitransitive
rare 平面锤

📖 指锤面平整、用于金属锻造或整平的锤子。

ambitransitive
rare 扁条拉模

📖 指带有狭长矩形孔、用来拉制扁平金属条的工具。

ambitransitive
rare 使变平的人或物

📖 泛指把某物压平的人，也可以指偶然使某物变平的人。

ambitransitive

flatters plural

noun

rare 出租公寓住户

📖 指住在出租公寓里的人，属于地区性、非正式的说法。

British New-Zealand ambitransitive slang

flatters plural

verb

core 奉承；讨好

📖 用夸奖或好听的话让某人高兴，常常带有讨好、取悦或不完全真诚的意味。

💡 常用句型“flatter someone by saying…”或“flatter someone into doing something”。它比普通的“称赞”更容易带有动机可疑的意味；不要把“flatter”误当成单纯、真诚的表扬。

ambitransitive

He flattered his boss by praising every decision she made.

他夸奖老板作出的每个决定，以此讨好她。
common 用夸奖满足虚荣心

📖 通过赞美让某人的自尊或虚荣心得到满足，使对方觉得自己很出色。

💡 常用“flatter someone’s ego”或“be flattered by the attention”。这里重点不是获得具体好处，而是让对方因被赞美而感到受用；不要漏译其中“满足虚荣心”的意味。

ambitransitive

She was flattered that the editor asked for her opinion.

编辑征求她的意见，她觉得自己受到了重视，很是得意。
common 使显得更好看

📖 某种衣服、发型、角度或画像把一个人的优点表现出来，使其看起来比平时更好。

💡 常用句型“X flatters someone”或“a portrait flatters someone”，主语通常是衣服、颜色、照片或画像。这里不是说这些东西在奉承人，而是说它们在视觉上突出优点；不要机械译成“夸奖”。

ambitransitive

That dark blue jacket really flatters you.

那件深蓝色夹克很衬你，让你看起来更好看。
common 用虚假希望安慰

📖 用通常并不可靠的希望让某人振作或安心，使对方暂时相信事情会顺利。

💡 常用“flatter someone with hopes”或“flatter someone into believing…”；后面通常接人以及希望或信念的内容。这个义项带有“空头安慰”的意味，不等于提供真实、可靠的鼓励。

ambitransitive

They flattered him with promises of a quick promotion.

他们用很快就会升职的承诺给他空头安慰。
common 自以为；自我陶醉

📖 常用于反身结构，表示自己相信某件令自己高兴的事，尤其是在证据不足或判断错误时自我安慰。

💡 最常见的结构是“flatter oneself that…”或“flatter oneself into thinking…”。通常带有说话人对这种自我判断的怀疑或否定；不要把它理解成健康的自信或正式的自我表扬。

ambitransitive reflexive usually

I flattered myself that the interview had gone well, but they rejected me.

我自以为面试进行得很顺利，但他们拒绝了我。
rare 古语：自我安慰

📖 这是“自我安慰、自以为是”义的过时用法，现代英语中通常不用这一形式。

ambitransitive intransitive obsolete reflexive usually

flatters present,singular,third-person flattering participle,present flattered participle,past flattered past

📘 英文释义 (WordNet) 共 1 组

praise somewhat dishonestly

同义词集: flatter blandish

反义: belittle, disparage, pick at 上位: praise 下位: bootlick, fawn, kotow, kowtow, soft-soap, stroke, suck up, toady, truckle

🌳 词源

形容词义来自“flat”的比较级；动词义与“抚摸、轻拍”和“讨好”有关。表示工具的人称名词义来自“使变平”，表示住在出租公寓的人则来自“flat”加名词后缀。

*From Middle English flatteren, flateren (“to flutter, float, fawn over”), probably a conflation of Old English floterian, flotorian (“to flutter, float, be disquieted”), from Proto-West Germanic *flotrōn, from Proto-Germanic *flutrōną (“to be floating”), from Proto-Indo-European *plewd- (“to flow, swim”), equivalent to float + -er; and Old Norse flaðra (“to fawn on someone, flatter”), from Proto-Germanic *flaþrōną (“to fawn over, flutter”), from Proto-Indo-European *peled- (“moisture, wetness”), *pel- (“to gush, pour out, fill, flow, swim, fly”). Cognate with Scots flatter, flotter (“to float; splash; cover with liquid”), Middle Dutch flatteren (“to embellish, flatter, caress”), German flattern (“to flutter”). *The word was also falsely associated with Middle French flatter (“to flatter, to caress with the flat of the hand”), from Old French flater (“to deceive by concealing the truth, to stroke with the palm of the hand”), from Frankish *flat (“palm, flat of the hand”), from Proto-Germanic *flatą, *flatō (“palm, sole”), from *flataz (“flat”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂-, *pleh₂- (“flat, broad, plain”); related to Old High German flazza (“palm, flat of the hand”), Old High German flaȥ (“level, flat”), Old Saxon flat (“flat”), Old Norse flatr (“flat”) (whence English flat), Old Frisian flet, flette (“dwelling, house”), Old English flet, flett (“ground floor, dwelling”). More at flat.

🔄 变式

flattered past flattering present flatters plural

🏷 单词标签 & 词根