Cajolement

/kəˈdʒoʊlmənt/ noun

Definition

The act or an instance of cajoling; gentle persuasion through flattery or coaxing.

Etymology

From French cajolement, derived from cajoler (to coax) + -ment, a common French suffix for forming abstract nouns from verbs.

Kelly Says

Medieval French court life was built on cajolement—courtiers spent their days in subtle flattery and coaxing, which is probably why French contributed so many words about this skill to English.

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.