blandish

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Related to blandish: brumal

blan·dish

(blăn′dĭsh)

tr.v. blan·dished, blan·dish·ing, blan·dish·es

To coax by flattery or wheedling; cajole.

[Middle English blandishen, from Old French blandir, blandiss-, from Latin blandīrī, from blandus, flattering; see mel- in Indo-European roots.]

blan′dish·er n.

blan′dish·ment n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

blandish

(ˈblændɪʃ)

(tr) to seek to persuade or influence by mild flattery; coax

[C14: from Old French blandir from Latin blandīrī]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

blan•dish

(ˈblæn dɪʃ)
v.t.

1. to coax or influence by gentle flattery; cajole.

v.i.

2. to use flattery or cajolery.

[1350–1400; Middle English < Anglo-French, Middle French blandiss-, long s. of blandir < Latin blandīrī to soothe, flatter. See bland, -ish ²]

blan′dish•er, n.

blan′dish•ing•ly, adv.

blandish

Past participle: blandished
Gerund: blandishing

Imperative
blandish
blandish

Present
I blandish
you blandish
he/she/it blandishes
we blandish
you blandish
they blandish

Preterite
I blandished
you blandished
he/she/it blandished
we blandished
you blandished
they blandished

Present Continuous
I am blandishing
you are blandishing
he/she/it is blandishing
we are blandishing
you are blandishing
they are blandishing

Present Perfect
I have blandished
you have blandished
he/she/it has blandished
we have blandished
you have blandished
they have blandished

Past Continuous
I was blandishing
you were blandishing
he/she/it was blandishing
we were blandishing
you were blandishing
they were blandishing

Past Perfect
I had blandished
you had blandished
he/she/it had blandished
we had blandished
you had blandished
they had blandished

Future
I will blandish
you will blandish
he/she/it will blandish
we will blandish
you will blandish
they will blandish

Future Perfect
I will have blandished
you will have blandished
he/she/it will have blandished
we will have blandished
you will have blandished
they will have blandished

Future Continuous
I will be blandishing
you will be blandishing
he/she/it will be blandishing
we will be blandishing
you will be blandishing
they will be blandishing

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been blandishing
you have been blandishing
he/she/it has been blandishing
we have been blandishing
you have been blandishing
they have been blandishing

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been blandishing
you will have been blandishing
he/she/it will have been blandishing
we will have been blandishing
you will have been blandishing
they will have been blandishing

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been blandishing
you had been blandishing
he/she/it had been blandishing
we had been blandishing
you had been blandishing
they had been blandishing

Conditional
I would blandish
you would blandish
he/she/it would blandish
we would blandish
you would blandish
they would blandish

Past Conditional
I would have blandished
you would have blandished
he/she/it would have blandished
we would have blandished
you would have blandished
they would have blandished

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Verb

blandish - praise somewhat dishonestly

flatter

soft-soap - use flattering talk on somebody

praise - express approval of; "The parents praised their children for their academic performance"

adulate - flatter in an obsequious manner

stroke - treat gingerly or carefully; "You have to stroke the boss"

bootlick, kotow, toady, truckle, kowtow, fawn, suck up - try to gain favor by cringing or flattering; "He is always kowtowing to his boss"

brown-nose, butter up - flatter with the intention of getting something

blandish

verb

1. To persuade or try to persuade by gentle persistent urging or flattery:

cajole, coax, honey, wheedle.

Informal: soft-soap, sweet-talk.

2. To compliment excessively and ingratiatingly:

adulate, butter up, flatter, honey, slaver.

Informal: soft-soap, sweet-talk.

Translations

schönreden

blandish

[ˈblændɪʃ] VT → engatusar, halagar

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

blandish

vt → schönreden (+dat)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

She neither languished nor blandished. No feminine lures were wasted on him.

View in context

Sometimes, you have to cajole, entrap, decoy, blandish or even manoeuvre during negotiations in order to achieve a final conclusion.

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George Orwell, in his essay "Raffles and Miss Blandish" writes that:

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(116) Alex Comfort, 'Literary Sadism and the Origins of Miss Blandish', Now (FebruaryMarch, 1947), pp6-13.

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In his essay Raes and Miss Blandish, Orwell wrote: "Cricket is not in reality a very popular game in England - it is nowhere so popular as football, for instance - but it gives expression to a well-marked trait in the English character, the tendency to value 'form' or 'style' more highly than success.

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Build it and they will come.. fingers crossed; It's always been a passion of mine to get locals into theatre and this project, which sees the Citizens undergo a major redevelopment, is no different

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Schuyler was a frequent critic of advertisements for skin bleaching products in his newspaper columns, and his novel parodied the linkage between skin bleaching and racial progress in his depiction of "Madam Sisseretta Blandish," who "because of her prominence in making Negroes appear as much like white folks as possible" was elected four times as a vice-president of the "American Race Pride League." She was also head of the Woman's Committee of the local Social Equality League, a stand-in for the NAACP.