- praise that is not sincere, especially in order to obtain something from somebody
- You're too intelligent to fall for his flattery.
Extra Examples- Salespeople are often accused of using artificial flattery.
- She persuaded him with flattery.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- artificial
- use
- fall for
- through flattery
- with flattery
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French flaterie, from flater ‘stroke, flatter’, probably of Germanic origin and related to flat ‘level’.Want to learn more?
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Idioms
See flattery in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionaryflattery will get you everywhere/nowhere
- (informal, humorous) praise that is not sincere will/will not get you what you want
Check pronunciation:
flattery