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

Inside, a high-powered laser fires bursts of light to flatten and vaporize tiny drops of molten tin.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 25, 2026

This afternoon, I used his mortar and pestle to grind coriander seeds, first crushing them as hard as I could, then twisting the pestle in circles to flatten them and make them into a powder.

From "The Night Diary" by Veera Hiranandani

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

"If you think about taking a bowl of pizza dough and setting it spinning above your head, it flattens out," she explained.

From BBC ● Feb. 27, 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

In the area around Otsuchi, the land alongside those rias flattens out for miles, making it ideal for farming.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland

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

We live saturated in opinion, reaction and digital noise, a culture that turns other people into content: flattened, accelerated, easy to dismiss.

From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026

Still, the director’s contributions for the most part supported the underlying emotional drama, which, in lesser musical and theatrical hands, can be flattened into an evening of empty display.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Once abundant along Ghana's shores, esene, or guitarfish -- with the flattened body of a ray and the tail of a shark -- have become increasingly difficult to find.

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

Hearing the sound of motorcycles approaching, they flattened themselves against the wall of an abandoned cottage.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

The quake caused widespread damage in the sweltering southwestern region, flattening homes, damaging bridges, triggering fires and leaving many without electricity and water.

From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 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

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

The result is flattening and enervating, and my dissatisfaction was apparently shared by others.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

“It isn’t safe,” George says, his eyes on the bent-over tree line, in parts looking like a giant lawn mower came across the earth, flattening trees in its path.

From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers