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Glite Dictionary
🫓 To make flat 💻 To make simple 🎵 To lower pitch
to flatten

to flatten

6.8
Lower a musical note by a half step
  • verb
  • /ˈflætən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : bajar un semitono
  • To play the note correctly, you need to flatten it by lowering the pitch by a semitone.

Examples

  • And the voice, of course, that deep, melodious voice, which even the cheap tape could not flatten.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • In fact, this statement—this one I'm making right here—is just me stalling for time while I decide which of your goons I'm going to flatten first.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • In jazz music, musicians often use a flatten note to create a more complex sound.

  • The conductor asked the pianist to flatten the third note to match the choir's pitch.

Synonyms

to drop
vsto flatten
14 6.7

To make a musical note lower in pitch

lowers pitch by exactly one semitone
to flat
vsto flatten
8 8.0

Sing or play a note lower than the correct pitch

lowers pitch by a precise semitone rather than merely sounding wrong

Antonyms

to sharpen
  • Specialized
1 4.1

To raise the pitch of a musical note by one small step

Phrasal Verbs

to flatten out
5 3.4

To become flat and smooth after being uneven

How Low

to lower
802 1.0
to drop
14 6.7
to flatten
  • Specialized
6.8

Surface Forms

flatten infinitive
flattened past
flattened past participle
flattening present participle
flattens third person singular

Morphology

flatten = flat (transparent) = flat + en

Formed by adding '-en' to 'flat' to mean 'make flat' (here: make lower in pitch); the morphological link is direct though the use is domain-specific.

Etymology

Flatten in music uses the same idea: flat meant 'lower' or 'not sharp'. So, to flatten a note is to make it a little 'lower' in pitch, the opposite of making it 'sharp'.