different between bland vs flattering

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /blænd/
• Rhymes: -ænd

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin blandus (“pleasant, flattering”).

Adjective

bland (comparative blander, superlative blandest)

1. Having a soothing effect; not irritating or stimulating.

2. Lacking in taste, flavor, or vigor.
   • 2012, John Shepherd, David Horn, Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World

     First and foremost, alternative country artists generally claim to reject mainstream country music as musically indistinguishable from bland pop music, as lyrically superficial, and as having no artistic merit […]

3. (figuratively) Lacking interest; boring; dull.
4. (now rare) Mild; soft, gentle, balmy; smooth in manner; suave.
   • 1818, John Keats, Sonnet:

     Where didst thou find, young Bard, thy sounding lyre? / Where the bland accent, and the tender tone?

Derived terms

• blanden
• blandness

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English blanden, blonden, from Old English blandan (“to blend, mix, mingle; trouble, disturb, corrupt”), from Proto-Germanic *blandan? (“to mix, blend”). Cognate with Icelandic blanda, Norwegian, Danish blande, Swedish blanda. See also blend.

Verb

bland (third-person singular simple present blands, present participle blanding, simple past and past participle blanded)

1. (transitive, Britain dialectal) To mix; blend; mingle.
2. (transitive, Britain dialectal) To connect; associate.

Etymology 3

From Middle English bland, from Old English bland, blond (“blending, mixture, confusion”), from Proto-Germanic *bland? (“a mixing, mixture”), from Proto-Indo-European *b?lend?- (“to grow turbid, dim, see badly, be blind”). Cognate with Icelandic blanda (“a mixture of liquids, especially of hot whey and water”).

Alternative forms

• blaind, blaund (Scotland)

Noun

bland (plural blands)

1. (Britain dialectal) Mixture; union.
2. A summer beverage prepared from the whey of churned milk, common among the inhabitants of the Shetland Islands.

Derived terms

• in bland

References

• bland in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Danish

Verb

bland

1. imperative of blande

German

Etymology

From Latin blandus.

Pronunciation

Adjective

bland (not comparable)

1. (medicine) bland

Declension

Further reading

• “bland” in Duden online

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /plant/
• Rhymes: -ant

Noun

bland n (genitive singular blands, no plural)

1. mix

Declension

Derived terms

• bland í poka

Related terms

• blanda

Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

bland

1. imperative of blande

Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

bland

1. imperative of blande

Swedish

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

Preposition

bland

1. among

English

Etymology

From Middle English flatering, flatrung (gerund), equivalent to flatter +? -ing.

Pronunciation

• enPR: fl?'t?r?ng, IPA^(key): /?flæt????/

Adjective

flattering (comparative more flattering, superlative most flattering)

1. Attractive or good-looking; that makes one look good

   Synonym: becoming

   Antonyms: unbecoming, unflattering

Translations

Verb

flattering

1. present participle of flatter

Noun

flattering (plural flatterings)

1. The action of the verb to flatter.
2. Instances of flattery.

Synonyms

• flattery
• soft sawder