blandishment

blandishmentnoun/ˈblæn.dɪʃ.m(ə)nt/

• 1

  Often in the plural form blandishments: a flattering speech or action designed to influence or persuade.

  • Thus Her with Indignation frowning, ſtern, / With Tears, and Blandiſhments Æneas ſooth’d : / She bends here Eyes averſe upon the Ground ; / And by his Speech begun is mov’d no more, / Than a hard Flint, or fix’d Marpeſian Rock.
  • She looked up as she heard his footsteps, and the gracious smile which her lips put on, was an invitation to make himself happy in a seat beside her. But he resisted the blandishment, and lifting his hat as he passed, with a smile in return, he soon disappeared from her presence, and joined the two who awaited him.
• 2

  Something alluring or attractive.

  • We need intellectual leaders who are prepared to resist the blandishments of power and influence and who are willing to work for an ideal, however small may be the prospects of its early realization.
• 3

  Allurement, attraction.