blandish

Meanings

Verb

praise somewhat dishonestly
To persuade someone by using flattery; to cajole.
To praise someone dishonestly; to flatter or butter up.

Origin / 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”).

Synonyms

flatter

Antonyms

disparage

Scrabble Score: 14

blandish is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
blandish is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
blandish is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 16

blandish is a valid Words With Friends word