What does "blandishment" mean?
Often in the plural form blandishments: a flattering speech or action designed to influence or persuade.
Blandishment
/ˈblæn.dɪʃ.m(ə)nt/ noun
noun ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Often in the plural form blandishments: a flattering speech or action designed to influence or persuade.
- Grammar: blandishment is listed as noun.
- Nearest alternatives: cajolery, adulation, agacerie, allure.
- Useful contrasts: candor, coercion, frankness.
- Usage evidence: Never again will I hear from her a teasing whisper or soft blandishment, never again feel around me her tight embrace.
How to use "blandishment"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "blandishment" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
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- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "blandishment" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "blandishment" as the right word for your sentence.
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "blandishment" is acting as noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "cajolery" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Often in the plural form blandishments: a flattering speech or action designed to influence or persuade. countable
"Thus Her with Indignation frowning, ſtern, / With Tears, and Blandiſhments Æneas ſooth’d : / She bends here Eyes averſe upon the Ground ; / And by his Speech begun is mov’d no more, / Than a hard Flint, or fix’d Marpeſian Rock."
- 2 the act of urging by means of teasing or flattery wordnet
- 3 Something alluring or attractive. countable
"We need intellectual leaders who are prepared to resist the blandishments of power and influence and who are willing to work for an ideal, however small may be the prospects of its early realization."
- 4 flattery intended to persuade wordnet
- 5 Allurement, attraction. figuratively, uncountable
Example
"Never again will I hear from her a teasing whisper or soft blandishment, never again feel around me her tight embrace."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "blandishment"?
Common synonyms include: cajolery, adulation, agacerie, allure, allurement, appeal.
How do you use "blandishment" in a sentence?
Never again will I hear from her a teasing whisper or soft blandishment, never again feel around me her tight embrace.
How do you pronounce "blandishment"?
Pronounced /ˈblæn.dɪʃ.m(ə)nt/.
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).