different between straighten vs flatten

English

Etymology

From straight +? -en. Compare Scots strauchten (“to straighten”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?st?e?tn?/
• Hyphenation: straight?en
• Rhymes: -e?t?n

Verb

straighten (third-person singular simple present straightens, present participle straightening, simple past and past participle straightened)

1. (transitive) To cause to become straight.
2. (intransitive) To become straight.
3. (transitive) To put in order; to sort; to tidy up.

   to straighten one's affairs, or an account
4. (transitive) To clarify a situation or concept to (an audience).
5. (transitive, slang) To bribe or corrupt.
6. (intransitive) To stand up, especially from a sitting position.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• straiten

Anagrams

• astringeth, shattering

English

Etymology

From flat +? -en.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?flæt?n/
• Rhymes: -æt?n

Verb

flatten (third-person singular simple present flattens, present participle flattening, simple past and past participle flattened)

1. (transitive) To make something flat or flatter.

2. (reflexive) To press one's body tightly against a surface, such as a wall or floor, especially in order to avoid being seen or harmed.
3. (transitive) To knock down or lay low.

4. (intransitive) To become flat or flatter; to plateau.

5. (intransitive) To be knocked down or laid low.
6. (music) To lower by a semitone.
7. To make vapid or insipid; to render stale.
8. (programming, transitive) To reduce (a data structure) to one that has fewer dimensions, e.g. a 2×2 array into a list of four elements.
9. (computer graphics, transitive) To combine (separate layers) into a single image.

Translations