1
as in smoothing
to make free from breaks, curves, or bumps
flattened out the wrinkled paper before attempting to trace the pattern
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in whipping
to defeat by a large margin
if you don't understand the rules, you're going to get flattened when you try to play
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of flattening
In a derby that former Manchester United captain Roy Keane bemoaned for the lack of combativeness and local representation, Khusanov played like a kid from Stockport finally getting to live out his dream of flattening everyone in a red jersey.
—
Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
Other times, long rates resist or even rise, flattening the curve and blunting the Fed’s impact.
—Robert Daugherty, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
And if some of those characters that aren’t the leads are not firing on all cylinders, the film can really start flattening.
—Kevin Cassidy, HollywoodReporter, 7 Sep. 2025
What remains of the material that birthed this still-growing protostar swirls around it, flattening out and eventually forming a protoplanetary disk in which planets can be born.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 29 Aug. 2025
By midmorning in the Central Valley, the light turns hard and white, bleaching the sky and flattening every shadow.
—Dean Florez, Mercury News, 19 Aug. 2025
To form more secure bonds, engineers are flattening the last few nanometers of oxide.
—IEEE Spectrum, 11 Aug. 2024
Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
Other times, long rates resist or even rise, flattening the curve and blunting the Fed’s impact.
—Robert Daugherty, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
And if some of those characters that aren’t the leads are not firing on all cylinders, the film can really start flattening.
—Kevin Cassidy, HollywoodReporter, 7 Sep. 2025
What remains of the material that birthed this still-growing protostar swirls around it, flattening out and eventually forming a protoplanetary disk in which planets can be born.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 29 Aug. 2025
By midmorning in the Central Valley, the light turns hard and white, bleaching the sky and flattening every shadow.
—Dean Florez, Mercury News, 19 Aug. 2025
To form more secure bonds, engineers are flattening the last few nanometers of oxide.
—IEEE Spectrum, 11 Aug. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flattening
Verb
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The handle twists at a 90-degree angle to become a high-speed hair dryer, but locked into its upright position, the device converts into a self-winding curling iron, a frizz-smoothing paddle brush, and a volume-building oval brush.—
Sophia Panych,
Allure,
16 Sep. 2025
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Offset spatula This decorating tool is a skinny, rectangular spatula used to assist in smoothing icing, which will give your cake a polished finish.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Then, with seemingly no provocation, the man can be seen standing up and whipping out a knife in his right hand.—
David K. Li,
NBC news,
17 Sep. 2025
-
Greens are guarded with some diabolical sand traps, and the usually whipping wind forces you to plot every shot.—
Moira McCarthy,
Boston Herald,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Significantly diseased leaves should be raked and removed from the area and disposed of properly, such as by burying, burning where allowed, or hot composting, according to UW-Madison.—
Gabe Hauari,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
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In video footage of the tragedy obtained by ViralPress, Praphrom could be seen inspecting a collapsed road from a trench opening below, before soil and concrete fell and struck the back of his neck, pinning him to the ground and burying him.—
Kimberlee Speakman,
PEOPLE,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The movie adaptation is also rife with metaphors about boys becoming men and overcoming life-or-death circumstances to make it out the other side.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
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But in reality, deepfakes are getting better and the threat industry has many years of experience in honing lures to trick people, playing on emotions and overcoming natural suspicions and objections.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a Sovereign Nation and close Ally of the United States, that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker Peace, does not advance Israel or America's goals.—
Amir Daftari,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
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The crew would indeed appear to be at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, because the Navy wasn’t satisfied with disabling the speedboat with a single powerful strike, but kept bombing it to smithereens after the initial hit.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Scott's expertise in embellishment and her ability to execute it in the most chic way prevailed; whether as crystal beading on the cape-style lapel of a jacket, a delicate fur-like fringe in neon green flanking a black dress, or a tubular velvet rope trimming the edges of tank-style pieces.—
Roxanne Robinson,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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Something as simple as trimming nails or cutting hair also takes on new challenges, as without gravity, every tiny clipping would drift around, potentially clogging equipment or entering astronauts' eyes or lungs.—
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry,
Space.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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As well as job displacement, AI risks deepening wealth inequality—concentrating the gains among those who own or are able to leverage its abilities, while throwing the remainder into the same basket of the formerly employable unemployed.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
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In the show, following Conrad's surprise arrival in Paris the day before Belly's 22nd birthday, the pair spent some time together sightseeing before heading to the party Belly's Parisian friends were throwing her.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Sense-annihilating dreck has become a generational identity that these kids can claim as their own.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
10 Sep. 2025
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How is annihilating the world a good defensive measure?—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flattening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flattening. Accessed 22 Sep. 2025.
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