flatter vs stain

flatter

verb
  • To portray someone to advantage. 

  • To compliment someone, often (but not necessarily) insincerely and sometimes to win favour. 

  • To enhance someone's vanity by praising them. 

  • To encourage or cheer someone with (usually false) hope. 

noun
  • Someone who flattens, purposely or accidently. Also flattener. 

  • Someone who lives in a rented flat. 

  • A type of set tool used by blacksmiths. 

  • A flat-faced fulling hammer. 

  • A drawplate with a narrow, rectangular orifice, for drawing flat strips such as watch springs. 

stain

verb
  • To taint or tarnish someone's character or reputation 

  • To cause to seem inferior or soiled by comparison. 

  • To coat a surface with a stain 

  • To treat (a microscopic specimen) with a dye, especially one that dyes specific features 

  • To discolour. 

  • To become stained; to take a stain. 

noun
  • A reagent or dye used to stain microscope specimens so as to make some structures visible. 

  • A discoloured spot or area. 

  • Any of a number of non-standard tinctures used in modern heraldry. 

  • A blemish on one's character or reputation. 

  • A substance used to soak into a surface and colour it. 

How often have the words flatter and stain occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )