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Glite Dictionary
to blandish

to blandish

9.9
To persuade someone using gentle or false praise
  • verb
  • /blænˈdɪʃ/
translation icon : halagar
  • When you want a favour you need not blandish me with false compliments.

Examples

  • Would he be so vain and blandished as to limit his strictures simply because the system now in place paraded in his name?

    Academic text (2010)

  • Well, this one seed by taking root, blandished.

    Raintree County (1957)

  • Wagner, again, was so refreshing because the judges still don't have a code with which to blandish him (he also looks like the joyous older brother of Javier Bardem).

    Blog text (6)

  • She tried to blandish her boss with compliments to get a raise.

  • Politicians often blandish their supporters to gain favor during campaigns.

  • He attempted to blandish her into agreeing with his plan by praising her previous work.

Synonyms

to flatter
vsto blandish
100 3.6

Praise someone with words you do not mean to get their help

aims to coax someone gently using insincere praise
to soft-soap
vsto blandish
  • Informal
1 7.7

To try to persuade someone by giving false praise

uses gentler coaxing praise rather than direct persuasion
to beslaver
vsto blandish
  • Archaic
9.9

To praise someone in a way that is not sincere to get a favor

is milder and gentler in tone when trying to influence

Antonyms

to offend
524 2.8

Cause a person to feel hurt, upset and angry because of your words or actions

to alienate
123 6.7

To make someone feel alone and lose support from others

How Flattering

to butter up
  • Informal
13 4.2
to ingratiate
10 8.2
to blandish
9.9
to compliment
95 1.6
to praise
331 1.0

Surface Forms

blandish infinitive
blandished past
blandished past participle
blandishing present participle
blandishes third person singular

Morphology

blandish = bland (semi-transparent) = bland + ish

Formally transparent as 'bland' + '-ish', but the meaning 'to coax by flattery' is a figurative/idiomatic extension rather than a literal 'make bland' interpretation.

Etymology

Blandish comes from the old Latin word blandus, meaning 'flattering' or 'pleasant'. So to blandish someone is to give sweet or false praise to persuade them, like being extra pleasant to win their favor.