If you feel flattered, you feel pleased because someone has shown that they like you, admire you, or think well of you. It is the warm little lift after a kind remark, a compliment, or an invitation you did not expect — I'm flattered you asked me. People also use it when they want to be polite but are about to say no: I'm very flattered, but I can't. Though actually, it does not always mean you fully believe the praise; it can simply mean “you said something nice about me, and I heard it.” It is softer and more personal than proud. It is also the ordinary past form of the verb flatter: she flattered him by laughing at every joke.