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
At the same time, the softer architectural blandishments of postmodernism, promising the comforts of architectural history and tradition, were challenging modernists.
—
Joseph Giovannini, New York Times, 4 Apr. 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
Joseph Giovannini, New York Times, 4 Apr. 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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Pivotal to the charm of the Algarve’s western coast are the simple pleasures: clifftop walks, buying your fish straight from the boats on the beach, coffee with a custardy pastéis de nata in a shady square.—
Zoë Dare Hall,
Forbes.com,
18 Aug. 2025
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The cosmic flow at this time typically represents an opportunity to impress people publicly or even charm authority figures.—
Kyle Thomas,
People.com,
17 Aug. 2025
Noun
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For another, any inclination by foreign leaders during Trump's first term to challenge him too directly has been replaced by a strategy of flattery.—
Susan Page,
USA Today,
20 Aug. 2025
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Tim said in one of those videos that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.—
David Mack,
Vulture,
8 Aug. 2025
Noun
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On Wednesday, however, a federal judge in Florida declined that entreaty, rebuffing their attempt at releasing information from the Sunshine State’s 2005 and 2007 federal investigations into Epstein.—
Mychael Schnell,
The Hill,
25 July 2025
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But up to this point the industry has largely rebuffed these entreaties.—
Justin Worland,
Time,
21 June 2025
Noun
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On the other side of the classroom wall giggling erupted, which rendered my exhortations futile.—
Sally Ventura
June 23,
Literary Hub,
23 June 2025
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Those listening filled his chestnut exhortations with their unfocussed yearnings.—
Deborah Baker
June 3,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2025
Noun
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As with Mozart, Renoir’s overt effervescence offers a fanciful tour of a charming hell on earth—and tempts viewers with its seductions.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
30 July 2025
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For Wheezy’s seduction to have worked, Felix had to let himself be seduced.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
10 July 2025
Noun
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Piled high into a thick, split-top bun, the tender chunks of lobster meat are mixed with a just-right amount of mayo (or with warm butter, if that’s your preference) and served with potato chips.—
Betsy Cribb Watson,
Southern Living,
16 Aug. 2025
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The seasonal menu leans into Southern ingredients and sustainability, with dishes like Carolina trout with lemon-dill butter or seared scallops over risotto.—
Carrie Honaker,
Travel + Leisure,
15 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The siblings' love and adoration of their dad is plain to see, as is the positive impact the Ring doorbell had on them.—
Jack Beresford,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 June 2025
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Each has done so to growing public interest and all that comes with it: adoration, criticism and faces on Panini stickers.—
Charlotte Harpur,
New York Times,
26 July 2025
Noun
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People should wash any skin that comes into contact with the slurry with water and soft soap, before using a hand cream to avoid dryness and cracking.—
Lauren Penington,
The Denver Post,
2 Sep. 2024
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Most of the questions aimed at the ironic American director of Raging Bull, Taxi Driver and Goodfellas were less softballs than soft soap, with reporters as interested in Scorsese’s favorite food — his mother’s lasagna recipe — as the movies in his peerless filmography.—
Scott Roxborough,
The Hollywood Reporter,
20 Feb. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Blandishment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blandishment. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.
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