flattening

verb

present participle of flatten
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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of flattening Here, starvation is a tool of war, one of the many tactics the militias use before flattening a town. — Janine Di Giovanni, Vanity Fair, 25 June 2026 This can include flattening the hill, raking or shoveling the mound, or even using a garden hose to flood the area. — Cori Sears, The Spruce, 4 June 2026 Wilson’s achievement is to bring these meanings forward without flattening the poem’s strangeness or grandeur. — David Denby, New Yorker, 21 June 2026 Grant asks Chris about the boxing gloves now for sale in the night store, but Katie forestalls him by running over and grabbing them, nearly flattening Chris. — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 16 June 2026 The answer to modern public life is not flattening everything into slogans or reducing politics to content. — Marc Adelman, HollywoodReporter, 16 June 2026 The Hurricanes went 12-1, flattening opponents by applying the kind of smooth, inevitable pressure that would make a Zamboni driver jealous. — Andrew Greif, NBC news, 3 June 2026 The date was chosen to coincide with the anniversary of the Tunguska impact of 1908, when an asteroid exploded over Siberia, flattening millions of trees in an 830 square mile (2,148 sq km) area. — Anthony Wood, Space.com, 26 June 2026 Building Leaner Teams Around Creative Expertise AI is flattening traditional agency structures by automating many execution-heavy tasks. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flattening
  1. smoothing
  2. whipping
  3. burying
  4. overcoming
  5. bombing
  6. trimming
  7. throwing
  8. upsetting
Verb
  • Spanx’s Shape Authentic 360 jeans are designed with all-over compression and a smoothing panel at the stomach that makes wearers feel snatched.
    — Kaelin Dodge, InStyle, 3 July 2026
  • Thanks to this fit of irrational exuberance, the NBA realized the benefits of cap smoothing and more-friendly contract-extension language in the collective bargaining agreement.
    — John Hollinger, New York Times, 1 July 2026
Definition of smoothing
Verb
  • And a Cut Absolute is whipping around upon seeing the person and walking away.
    — Judith Martin, Mercury News, 29 June 2026
  • Patrick Evans made it to the top step of the Motocross Best Trick event with his electric bike, whipping out a no-handed front flip to loud cheers from the crowd before climbing back up the ramp to celebrate.
    — Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 28 June 2026
Definition of whipping
Verb
  • No mother should endure the agony of cremation and/or burying their child.
    — Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 1 July 2026
  • It’s been over three decades since Wood was convicted of murdering six young women and girls and burying their bodies near El Paso – crimes for which he was nicknamed the Desert Killer.
    — Irenie Forshaw, TheWeek, 1 July 2026
Definition of burying
Verb
  • Forward-looking firms are overcoming this by deploying advanced technical strategies.
    — Ali Hoss, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
  • Normal matter can’t be stuffed into a space tiny and dense enough without overcoming a huge outward pressure.
    — Stephen DiKerby, The Conversation, 29 June 2026
Definition of overcoming
Verb
  • French officials condemned the damage to the ancient monastery, comparing it to bombing Notre-Dame, while Ukrainian religious leaders called it a crime against humanity.
    — Mark Temnycky, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026
  • Another bad fix bombing out the moment it was most needed.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 June 2026
Definition of bombing
Verb
  • Conviction should not prevent an investor from trimming or exiting once the valuation has absorbed the catalyst.
    — Jim Osman, Forbes.com, 5 July 2026
  • While some varieties will rebloom without deadheading, trimming fading flowers keeps the flower bed from looking tired.
    — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 30 June 2026
Definition of trimming
Verb
  • The game featured two of baseball's best and hardest-throwing pitchers in Burns and Misiorowski.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 July 2026
  • Players will be hopping, throwing, rolling, shooting and more in a broad test of their reflexes.
    — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 2 July 2026
Definition of throwing
Verb
  • The scale of that cost and who will bear them within the supply chain is one of the major uncertainties upsetting those faced with execution.
    — Brian Delp, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026
  • As the 32nd and last seed, the Kaulig Racing driver made an improbably flamboyant run to a runner-up finish while upsetting Hamlin and 2012 champion Brad Keselowski.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 June 2026
Definition of upsetting

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Cite this Entry

“Flattening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flattening. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on flattening

Nglish: Translation of flattening for Spanish Speakers

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