Flat v. t. [imp. & p. p. Flatted p. pr. & vb. n. Flatting ]
1. To make flat; to flatten; to level.
2. To render dull, insipid, or spiritless; to depress.
Passions are allayed, appetites are flatted. --Barrow.
3. To depress in tone, as a musical note; especially, to lower in pitch by half a tone.
flat
adj 1: having a horizontal surface in which no part is higher or
lower than another; "a flat desk"; "acres of level
farmland"; "a plane surface" [syn: level, plane]
2: having no depth or thickness
3: not modified or restricted by reservations; "a categorical
denial"; "a flat refusal" [syn: categoric, categorical,
unconditional]
4: stretched out and lying at full length along the ground;
"found himself lying flat on the floor" [syn: prostrate]
5: lacking contrast or shading between tones [ant: contrasty]
6: lowered in pitch by one chromatic semitone; "B flat" [ant: natural,
sharp]
7: flattened laterally along the whole length (e.g., certain
leafstalks or flatfishes) [syn: compressed]
8: lacking taste or flavor or tang; "a bland diet"; "insipid
hospital food"; "flavorless supermarket tomatoes"; "vapid
beer"; "vapid tea" [syn: bland, flavorless, flavourless,
insipid, savorless, savourless, vapid]
9: lacking stimulating characteristics; uninteresting; "a bland
little drama"; "a flat joke" [syn: bland]
10: having lost effervescence; "flat beer"; "a flat cola"
11: not increasing as the amount taxed increases [syn: fixed]
12: not made with leavening; "most flat breads are made from
unleavened dough" [syn: unraised]
13: parallel to the ground; "a flat roof"
14: without pleats [syn: unpleated]
15: lacking the expected range or depth; not designed to give an
illusion or depth; "a film with two-dimensional
characters"; "a flat two-dimensional painting" [syn: two-dimensional]
16: (of a tire) completely or partially deflated
17: not reflecting light; not glossy; "flat wall paint"; "a
photograph with a matte finish" [syn: mat, matt, matte,
matted]
18: lacking variety in shading; "a flat unshaded painting"
n 1: a level tract of land
2: a shallow box in which seedlings are started
3: a musical notation indicating one half step lower than the
note named
4: freight car without permanent sides or roof [syn: flatcar,
flatbed]
5: a deflated pneumatic tire [syn: flat tire]
6: scenery consisting of a wooden frame covered with painted
canvas; part of a stage setting
7: a suite of rooms usually on one floor of an apartment house
[syn: apartment]
adv 1: at full length; "he fell flat on his face"
2: with flat sails; "sail flat against the wind"
3: below the proper pitch; "she sang flat last night"
4: against a flat surface; "he lay flat on his back"
5: in a forthright manner; candidly or frankly; "he didn't
answer directly"; "told me straight out"; "came out flat
for less work and more pay" [syn: directly, straight]
[ant: indirectly]
6: wholly or completely; "He is flat broke"
[also: flatting, flatted, flattest, flatter]