blandishment

[ blan-dish-muhnt ]

noun

1. Often blandishments. something, as an action or speech, that tends to flatter, coax, entice, etc.:

   Our blandishments left him unmoved. We succumbed to the blandishments of tropical living.

   Synonyms: ingratiation, blarney, cajolery, flattery

Word History and Origins

Origin of blandishment¹

First recorded in 1585–95; blandish + -ment

Example Sentences

Few can resist the Beltway’s beckoning, the blather of political pundits or the blandishment of campaign operatives urging them to run.

From Los Angeles Times

Dad and Mom and the other adults were always ready with a parable or blandishment, in Beaver’s life as in mine.

From Washington Post

Citizens there and in cities like Kherson and Melitopol face a bleak choice: If they want to work, they must first obtain a Russian passport, a blandishment offered to secure a semblance of loyalty to Moscow.

From New York Times

He apparently hopes to smooth over any hard feelings the former president may have about McCarthy’s mild blandishment that Trump “bears responsibility” for the mob that he fed with false claims about a stolen election and then incited to attack the Capitol on Jan. 6.

From Washington Post

No amount of wheedling and blandishment would cause the cynical badger to change her mind.

From Literature