What does insincere flattery mean, and how do you use them in a sentence?

‘ They’re closely related, but the intent behind them is very different. You can praise someone for their actions, or their lack of action, while flattery can easily be vague, undefined, even an actual lie. Praise is intended to encourage, flattery is usually insincere and can be deceptive. Praise is specific to an action, a trait or a genuine observation,whereas flattery has either no real cause, is an over exaggeration. In all cases it is not anchored in grounded specifics.

By appropriating the music of his enemy, he cloaks his subterfuge in flattery. Defenestration The fascinating story behind many people’s favori… Fierstein’s dings are often dressed in self-flattery.

The expression ‘insincere flattery’ originates from the word ‘flattery.’ Flattery by itself is insincere. You flatter someone with praise when you have an ulterior motive behind stroking their ego. Flattery makes another person feel good because everyone wants people to speak of them in a good light. As opposed to real praise, flattery is insincere and almost always has an ulterior motive. The Old English root word of flatter is flater, which originally meant “to stroke with the hand or caress.” When you stroke someone’s ego to get what you want, you’re using flattery. If the person you are wildly complimenting tells you that flattery will get you nowhere, you know it’s time to back off.

The original meaning of flatter’ is to “stroke with the hand or caress.” So, it makes sense that flattery involves stroking another person’s ego to get what you want from them. However, insincere flattery makes it blatantly obvious that the other person [pii_email_e6af9796c02919183edc] is trying to play to your ego to get you to do something for them. Some suggest this tactic comes from sales, where salespeople will use flattery to manipulate a prospect into a deal. While it is good to hear praise, accept it with a pinch of salt.

Most compliments that are disingenuous fall into a few categories. They are made in tones of mockery; they are over-the-top; they are inappropriate for the relationship; or they occur too frequently. If the praise you received meets any of these criteria, you may need to pay closer attention to this person. A salesman who starts with a little flattery or soft soap will sometimes sell a very good insurance policy.

Don’t assume the compliment is insincere if it’s over text; it’s really hard to identify tone in a text message, and they may be genuinely trying to compliment you. We have shown the sincerest form of flattery, which is imitation, for some centuries. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, we know the judgment of the rest of the world on our record.

Since he badly wants the food, he decides to trick the crow with flattering words. He lavishes praise on the crow by calling him a beautiful bird. He says that he would like to hear the crow’s sweet voice, and asks the crow to sing. The foolish crow believes that the praise is genuine, and opens his mouth to sing.

She was entrapped by this point and would believe him and blame herself for their problems. He would hit her, then buy her gifts, promise to change, and threaten suicide. He used flattery like many manipulators do — to control. As is often the case, the kindness mostly stopped after Joanna was too beaten down to leave.