as in cajolery
a nice thing that someone says or does to persuade another to do something
He finally succumbed to his children's blandishments and allowed them to stay up past their bedtime.
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Recent Examples of blandishment
The fateful lane change arose out of one mayor’s resistance to such blandishments.
—
Ephrat Livni, Quartz, 7 May 2020
Her 2014 autobiography, A Fighting Chance, and recent stump speeches are festooned in pep club spirit and folksy blandishments, cloying bits of business that have attached themselves to her life story.
—Caroline Fraser, The New York Review of Books, 13 Feb. 2020
The region’s main powers, Australia and New Zealand, fear the creation of a mendicant state on their doorsteps, susceptible, in particular, to Chinese bribes and blandishments.
—The Economist, 18 Dec. 2019
Having failed to win the Japanese around with blandishments, an increasingly desperate-looking Senard has reached for the stick.
—Washington Post, 18 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for blandishment
Ephrat Livni, Quartz, 7 May 2020
Her 2014 autobiography, A Fighting Chance, and recent stump speeches are festooned in pep club spirit and folksy blandishments, cloying bits of business that have attached themselves to her life story.
—Caroline Fraser, The New York Review of Books, 13 Feb. 2020
The region’s main powers, Australia and New Zealand, fear the creation of a mendicant state on their doorsteps, susceptible, in particular, to Chinese bribes and blandishments.
—The Economist, 18 Dec. 2019
Having failed to win the Japanese around with blandishments, an increasingly desperate-looking Senard has reached for the stick.
—Washington Post, 18 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for blandishment
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blandishment
Noun
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Complete with Portland charm, cobble stone pathways, farm-to-table delights, local boutiques, shops, galleries and much more, its inviting neighborhood feel will set the tone for your day ahead.—
Dontaira Terrell,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026
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Wessels catches gleams to follow not only in magical tales but in twinkling memories, sparkling wordplay, the films of silver-screen star Veronica Lake, and his charm of a daughter, the inspiration of a half-dozen poems that take their titles from spells.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
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But despite officials’ urging, community pleas to delay a decision and threats of legal action, the board approved the closures.—
Molly Gibbs,
Mercury News,
27 Mar. 2026
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At Linda and her family's urging, Connie filed a missing person report with the Elko New Market Police Department in Minnesota where the Herbsts lived.—
Peter Van Sant,
CBS News,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Imitation, of course, is the sincerest form of flattery.—
Rachel Chang,
Travel + Leisure,
16 Mar. 2026
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This tradition should be viewed as a form of flattery.—
U T Readers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Sununu’s dad served as governor, as did his brother Chris, who refused entreaties to run in the party’s Senate races.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
27 Mar. 2026
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This kind of boosterism—no less evident in Bernard Lewis’s highbrow argument in The New Yorker that Muslims fear modernity than in Niall Ferguson’s entreaties for the Bush Administration to resume the British Empire’s task of civilizing the natives—always seemed bafflingly sterile to me.—
Christine Smallwood,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Checkers can see your shortcuts, your reportorial wheedling, your blind spots.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
25 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Caminero’s sprint included several mid-stride hops and fist pumps and exhortations to the crowd.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 Mar. 2026
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Freedom is a struggle, Ronald Reagan’s proclamation said in 1986, echoing Frederick Douglass’s exhortation that if there is no struggle, there is no progress.—
Adam Harris,
The Atlantic,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
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No coaxing or pulling from the crate.—
Cathy M. Rosenthal,
San Antonio Express-News,
26 Feb. 2026
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Hair that’s naturally less heavy can hold more shape and bounce when styling, but maintaining a full-bodied look might take some extra coaxing.—
Grace McCarty,
Glamour,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Scripted by Grace Glowicki and Ben Petrie (partners in life and in filmmaking), these words of seduction are music to the ears of a lonely Gravedigger (Glowicki), who has been formulating a perfume to cover up her corpse-like stench.—
Katie Walsh,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Mar. 2026
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But the real seduction lies inside.—
Vicki Power,
TheWeek,
23 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Blandishment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blandishment. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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