Standard Lemma guide

blandish

verb · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American, Received-Pronunciation: blăndĭsh
  • General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /ˈblændɪʃ/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ændɪʃ

1

verb

Meaning 1

To persuade someone by using flattery; to cajole.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: inveigle, sweet-talk, wheedle, blandander, blandish, butter up, cajole, fast-talk, canoodle, carny, coax, collogue, croodle, engle, fleech, honey around, honey up, hum, ingle, soap, soft-sawder, soft-soap, stroke, tweedle, twist, whilly, word

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To praise someone dishonestly; to flatter or butter up.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

praise somewhat dishonestly

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: flatter

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: praise

Narrower terms: soft-soap, adulate, stroke, fawn, toady, truckle, bootlick, kowtow, kotow, suck up, butter up, brown-nose

History

Etymology

From Middle English blaundishen (“to flatter; to fawn; to be enticing or persuasive; to be favourable; of the sea: to become calm”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman blaundishen, from blandiss-, the extended stem of Middle French blandir + Middle English -ishen (suffix forming verbs). Blandir is derived from Latin blandīrī (“to fawn, flatter; to delude”), from blandus (“fawning, flattering, smooth, suave; persuasive; alluring, enticing, seductive; agreeable, pleasant”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mel- (“erroneous, false; bad, evil”)) + -iō (suffix forming causative verbs from adjectives). The English word is analysable as bland + -ish; compare bland (“agreeable, pleasant, suave; mild, soothing”).

Across languages

Translations

12 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: придумвам чрез ласкателство (pridumvam črez laskatelstvo) — to persuade someone by using flattery; to cajole
  • Dutch: vleien — to persuade someone by using flattery; to cajole
  • German: zureden — to persuade someone by using flattery; to cajole
  • Russian: угова́ривать (ugovárivatʹ) — to persuade someone by using flattery; to cajole
  • Turkish: dil dökmek — to persuade someone by using flattery; to cajole
  • Bulgarian: лаская (laskaja) — to praise someone dishonestly; to flatter or butter up
  • Czech: lichotit — to praise someone dishonestly; to flatter or butter up
  • Czech: pochlebovat — to praise someone dishonestly; to flatter or butter up
  • Dutch: vleien — to praise someone dishonestly; to flatter or butter up
  • Hungarian: hízeleg — to praise someone dishonestly; to flatter or butter up
  • Turkish: yağlamak — to praise someone dishonestly; to flatter or butter up
  • Turkish: yağ çekmek — to praise someone dishonestly; to flatter or butter up