flatten

James C. Scott called this legibility, the way institutions flatten complicated people into categories they can manage.

From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026

The researchers found that rift flanks begin to flatten relatively quickly once tectonic movement ends.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 25, 2026

Although long-term agreements from memory companies and a redesign of AI chips to address memory constraints “could flatten the amplitude of the cycle,” Moore said those factors should increase the duration of the memory boom.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026

River can be a good thing, social media algorithms can flatten the context around the waterway, particularly when it comes to demographic changes in nearby neighborhoods.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

After a moment his voice would flatten out.

From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien

Like VIX, it is not as bullish as it could be: The term structure of the VIX futures rises in the front end of the curve but then flattens out.

From MarketWatch ● May 8, 2026

“When this ratio flattens, it suggests a potential balancing of labor supply and demand,” Jefferson said, according to a published text of his remarks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 7, 2026

Over and over again, this documentary makes the point that the screen flattens people’s full humanity.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2025

Beijing will need to organise a stimulus package to account for the loss of whole percentage points of GDP, the kind of thing that happens when a natural disaster flattens a major city.

From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2025

But the cat just narrows his eyes, flattens his one ear, and hisses back at me.

From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan

On the third day, they climbed to a high point from which they could see the flattened area where his brother’s two-story residence building once stood.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

So I sliced the kielbasa into coins, cut up one red pepper and one medium onion, tucked the whole thing into a reusable freezer bag and flattened it out.

From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026

Water vole volunteers 'get very excited by flattened poo'

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

That night, a million hushed “sorry!’s” could be heard throughout the auditorium as hordes of alternatively inclined women — because there were mostly women — flattened themselves to move through their row.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

"When I first came here and saw the suffering and ruin, it nearly broke my heart. A once-great city flattened, and the people digging in the mud like dogs. I could hardly bear it."

From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat

Treating scientific opinion as simply “for” or “against” risks flattening these important distinctions.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 9, 2026

To some, it may feel like Araki is flattening complex social mores and misunderstanding the anxieties behind this era of semi-celibacy.

From Salon ● Jul. 31, 2026

However, the yield curve began rolling over in April 2025 and has been flattening again since year-end.

From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026

At this stage, the flattening appears to reflect a market that believes policy is not restrictive enough to bring inflation back to target, rather than a market focused primarily on slowing growth.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026

I’m flattening it out with my fist, thinking about all the dope places Mateo and I have been together, when I spot a Luigi hat on the floor between his dresser and bed.

From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera