fla
tten
Third Person
flattens
Present Participle
flattening
Past Tense
flattened
Past Participle
flattened
1
to reduce the thickness or height of something, making it less raised or elevated in its shape or form
transitive
- The construction crew used a steamroller to flatten the newly paved road.
- After the dough rose, the baker needed to flatten it with a rolling pin.
- To create more space, they decided to flatten the hilly terrain and build a foundation.
- The artist used a palette knife to flatten the texture of the oil painting.
- In preparation for the construction, the workers had to flatten the uneven ground.
2
to adjust a musical note in pitch by lowering it by a semitone
transitive
- The pianist had to flatten the F sharp in the melody to match the key signature of the composition.
- The vocalist used her trained ear to flatten the high notes during the performance.
- The guitarist instinctively knew when to flatten certain chords to create the melancholic tone of the ballad.
- The violinist carefully listened to the ensemble and adjusted her playing to flatten the dissonant notes in the passage.
- The trumpeter had to flatten the B natural to match the tuning of the ensemble.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
3
to thoroughly defeat someone in an argument, a contest, etc.
transitive
- Despite his best efforts, she flattened him in the debate with her well-researched points and persuasive arguments.
- The soccer team flattened their rivals in the championship match, scoring six goals to secure a decisive victory.
- In the academic competition, she flattened her opponents with her depth of knowledge and quick thinking.
- Despite being the underdog, the boxer flattened his opponent with a powerful knockout punch in the final round.
- In the sales pitch, he flattened the competition with his compelling presentation and persuasive sales tactics.