flatter

\fla.te\

/\fla.te\/ verb

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

The verdict

“flatter” has 9 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #25,316. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#25,316
frequency rank, French
3,276
“F” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
14
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Louer excessivement dans le dessein de plaire, de séduire, d’exploiter.

Corpus desk

Index FR-flatter · flatter · French

flatter · rank #25,316 · 9 variants · 14 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #25,316
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 14 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,276
  • PHOTO-FINISH figuration

Nearest frequency peer: figuration (-1 rank slots)

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.

Pairs de rang près de l'aimant d'erreurs « flatter »

Même bande de rareté: utile si une faute tombe sur un lemme voisin

corpus weight

What this shows « flatter » siège parmi ces pairs FrequencyWords; la profondeur des fautes est suivie à part dans le graphique d'édition.

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).

flatter vs flotte
71% similar
flatter vs frotter
71% similar
flatter vs flotter
86% similar

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

Key facts for flatter
PropertyValue
Headwordflatter
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\fla.te\
Letters7
Frequency rank#25,316
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs14
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « flatter »

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).flatterse place ici:

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

L'échelle est logarithmique (chaque tic ≈ 10× plus rare). Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « figuration » (#25,315), « flip » (#25,317), « faubourgs » (#25,314). Parmi 3,276 lemmes en « F », « flatter » est au #25,316. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around flatter (IPA \fla.te\), averb. Corpus frequency is #25,316 among 3,276 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for flatter, with forms such as "faltter", "fflatter", and "flater". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 14 confusable-pair relationships, "flotte", "frotter", "flotter", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is flatter, spelled F-L-A-T-T-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Louer excessivement dans le dessein de plaire, de séduire, d’exploiter.
  2. 2
    Complaire aux passions, aux caprices, aux goûts de quelqu’un, leur donner son approbation, des louanges.
  3. 3
    Dépeindre, représenter une personne ou quelque chose plus belle qu’elle ne l’est.
  4. 4
    Caresser.
  5. 5
    Entrer dans les vues, partager les sentiments de quelqu’un.
  6. 6
    Causer un vif plaisir, une grande satisfaction.
  7. 7
    Avoir ou vouloir donner une trop haute idée de soi-même, de son habileté, de ses ressources, etc.
  8. 8
    S’entretenir dans l’espérance, s’amuser de l’espérance de quelque chose, prétendre, espérer à tort ou à raison.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Et tous de le flatter, et de l’entourer d’une cour dont il ne peut être dupe, mais dont se gonfle sa vanité.
  2. Les hommes aiment ordinairement ceux qui les flattent.

This word in other languages

flatter(English)adular(Español)schmeicheln(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • faltter
  • fflatter
  • flater
  • flatetr
  • flatterr
  • flattre
  • fllatter
  • fltater
  • lfatter

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

faltter2fflatter1flater1flatetr2flatterr1flattre2fllatter1fltater2
Edit distance from "flatter"

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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "flatter"?
"flatter" is spelled F-L-A-T-T-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \fla.te\.
What does "flatter" mean?
As a verb, "flatter" means: Louer excessivement dans le dessein de plaire, de séduire, d’exploiter.
What words are commonly confused with "flatter"?
"flatter" is commonly confused with "flotte", "frotter", "flotter". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "flatter"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "flatter" is \fla.te\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "flatter" come from?
"flatter" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 French words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Frankie#25,322estrade#25,308freeman#25,324enclins#25,302

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

dévouée9 variantsgronde9 variantsHomère9 variantshélium9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list