flattery

/ˈflæt.ə.ɹi/

//ˈflæt.ə.ɹi// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"flattery" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“flattery” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #30,423. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#30,423
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Excessive praise or approval, which is often insincere and sometimes contrived to win favour.

Corpus desk

Index EN-flattery · flattery · English

flattery · rank #30,423 · 11 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #30,423
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH firsts

Nearest frequency peer: firsts (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “flattery”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “flattery” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

flattery vs flutter
75% similar
flattery vs fatter
75% similar
flattery vs flatter
88% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for flattery
PropertyValue
Headwordflattery
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈflæt.ə.ɹi/
Letters8
Frequency rank#30,423
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “flattery”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).flatterylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “firsts” (#30,422), “fleur” (#30,424), “firework” (#30,421). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “flattery” is #30,423. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around flattery (IPA /ˈflæt.ə.ɹi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #30,423 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for flattery, with forms such as "falttery", "fflattery", and "flatery". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "flutter", "fatter", "flatter", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English flaterye, flaterie, from Old French flaterie, from the verb flater (“to flatter”). By surface analysis, flatter + -y (forming abstract nouns). The correct English form is flattery, spelled F-L-A-T-T-E-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Excessive praise or approval, which is often insincere and sometimes contrived to win favour.
  2. 2
    An instance of excessive praise.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how flattery appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Don't you know that some of his contributions here are pure flattery?
  2. That the young Mr. Churchills liked—but they did not like him coming round of an evening and drinking weak whisky-and-water while he held forth on railway debentures and corporation loans. Mr. Barrett, however, by fawning and flattery, seemed to be able to make not only Mrs. Churchill but everyone else do what he desired.

Etymology

From Middle English flaterye, flaterie, from Old French flaterie, from the verb flater (“to flatter”). By surface analysis, flatter + -y (forming abstract nouns).

Synonyms

carnyflatteryincenseadulationass-kissingass-lickingblandishmentglozehoomalimalisoft sawdersoothsycophancy

This word in other languages

adulación(Español)flatterie(Français)Schmeichelei(Deutsch)lisonja(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • falttery
  • fflattery
  • flatery
  • flatetry
  • flatterry
  • flatteryy
  • flatteyr
  • flattrey
  • fllattery
  • fltatery
  • lfattery

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of flattery - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

falttery2fflattery1flatery1flatetry2flatterry1flatteryy1flatteyr2flattrey2
Edit distance from "flattery"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "flattery"?
"flattery" is spelled F-L-A-T-T-E-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈflæt.ə.ɹi/.
What does "flattery" mean?
As a noun, "flattery" means: Excessive praise or approval, which is often insincere and sometimes contrived to win favour.
What words are commonly confused with "flattery"?
"flattery" is commonly confused with "flutter", "fatter", "flatter". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "flattery"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "flattery" is /ˈflæt.ə.ɹi/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "flattery"?
From Middle English flaterye, flaterie, from Old French flaterie, from the verb flater (“to flatter”). By surface analysis, flatter + -y (forming abstract nouns). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "flattery", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

firework#30,421Filipina#30,420foreseen#30,426fetching#30,418

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

Falkirk11 variantshedging11 variantsdelirium11 variantsjockeys11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list