Blandishments are pleasant things you say — or small softnesses you offer — in order to persuade someone or win them over. Praise, sweet talk, gentle promises: the words sound kind, but they have a job to do. The word is almost always used in the plural, and it is formal or bookish. A newspaper might say a minister resisted the blandishments of rich friends. In ordinary speech people say flattery or sweet talk instead. A compliment can be honest; blandishments are trying to move you. They are not usually as hard as a bribe — more like honey than money — though actually writers sometimes stretch the word to cover any tempting offer, not only talk.