0 the act of praising someone, often in a way that is not sincere, because you want something from them: --
He was exaggerating in his flattery of my spin bowling.
A little flattery gets one a long way.
We have shown the sincerest form of flattery, which is imitation, for some centuries.
The proposed system is an invitation to schools to buy flattery.
A salesman who starts with a little flattery or soft soap will sometimes sell a very good insurance policy.
I notice that he, too, has gone, probably because of a surfeit of flattery.
I am bewildered by this combination of insults and flattery.
Fifty-two days is quite long enough for me to learn to avoid the temptations and seductions of flattery.