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

My mother said she used a laundry iron to flatten it out before pasting it next to hers in the scrapbook.

From "Flush" by Carl Hiaasen

A hot-strip mill flattens thick slabs of heated steel into long, thin ribbons of sheet steel that are wound into coils and shipped to customers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026

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

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

Before I can say anything, William stands up, takes his hat off and flattens down his hair.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

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

After she finally sought treatment, she wrote, the medication she was prescribed flattened her — in one instance she fell asleep for hours on the set of “Nashville.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

When Thoreau spews nonsense, such as men, “like the earth, revolve mainly from west to east, and so are flattened at the poles,” let’s call the silliness by its real name.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Water vole volunteers 'get very excited by flattened poo'

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

As the arch flattened, as much as 250 miles of coastline—roughly equal to the distance from New York City to Washington, D.C.—sank by 2 feet.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland

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

DeChambeau was given a two-shot penalty on Friday after tournament officials ruled he had improved the area of his backswing by flattening down some long grass on Royal Birkdale's fifth hole.

From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026

Markets’ recent pricing of rate hikes is excessive and the recent flattening trend is likely largely over, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 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

This sud- den revolution in connectivity constituted a major flattening force.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman