blandishment
UK /ˈblæn.dɪʃ.m(ə)nt/ · US /ˈblæn.dɪʃ.mənt/ noun
Forms blandishments
- noun (countable) Often in the plural form blandishments: a flattering speech or action designed to influence or persuade.
- noun (countable) Something alluring or attractive.
- noun (uncountable, figurative) Allurement, attraction.
Synonyms
cajolery carny flattery incense adulation ass-kissing ass-licking gloze hoomalimali soft sawder sooth sycophancy palaver wheedling
Etymology
From blandish (“to persuade someone by using flattery, to cajole; to praise someone dishonestly, to flatter or butter up”) + -ment (suffix forming nouns from verbs, having the sense of ‘the action or result of what is denoted by the verbs’). Blandish is derived from Middle English blaundishen (“to flatter; to fawn; to be enticing or persuasive; to be favourable; of the sea: to become calm”) [and other forms] (whence blaundice (“flattery, blandishment; caresses, dalliance; allurement, attractiveness; deceitfulness, deception”) [and other forms]), from Middle English blaundishen, from blandiss-, the extended stem of Middle French blandir + Middle English -ishen (suffix forming verbs). Blandir is derived from Latin blandīrī, the present active infinitive of blandior (“to fawn, flatter; to delude”), from blandus (“fawning, flattering, smooth, suave; persuasive; alluring, enticing, seductive; agreeable, pleasant”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mel- (“erroneous, false; bad, evil”)) + -iō (suffix forming causative verbs from adjectives).
Webster’s 1913
- noun The act of blandishing; a word or act expressive of affection or kindness, and tending to win the heart; soft words and artful caresses; cajolery; allurement.
Etymology [Cf. OF. blandissement.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “blandishment”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details