stroke someone's ego

verb

To baselessly compliment someone in order to undeservedly flatter or indulge them.

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Meanings

verbstroke someone's ego (third-person singular simple present strokes someone's ego, present participle stroking someone's ego, simple past and past participle stroked someone's ego)

present singular third person strokes someone's ego · participle present stroking someone's ego · participle past stroked someone's ego · past stroked someone's ego

  1. To baselessly compliment someone in order to undeservedly flatter or indulge them.

    You're a horrible host! You don't care about us at all! You care more about stroking your own ego than giving us anything we'd actually enjoy!

    2026 March 20, Gooseworx, “hjsakldfhl” (27:25 from the start), in The Amazing Digital Circus, episode 8, spoken by Pomni (Lizzie Freeman)

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
flatter
Cite this entry
APA

stroke someone's ego. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stroke%20someone's%20ego

MLA

“stroke someone's ego.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stroke%20someone's%20ego. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “stroke someone's ego,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stroke%20someone's%20ego.

Source: stroke someone's ego on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.