cajolery

C2+ Topic:Word Formation & Derivatives

US /kəˈdʒoʊləri/ UK /kəˈdʒəʊləri/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
persuasion by flattery, coaxing, or gentle deception

No amount of cajolery could change the judge's mind.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · persuasion by flattery,... coaxingwheedlingflattery blandishmentinveiglementpersuasionblarney

Opposites

coercion force

Word family

Related forms cajolecajoler

Etymology

From French cajolerie, from cajoler ('to coax, flatter'), of uncertain origin, perhaps a blend of cageoler ('to chatter like a caged jay') and gaioler ('to lure').

cajolerie French

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Word Formation & Derivatives General Vocabulary

External links

# cajolery

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /kəˈdʒoʊləri/
**IPA (UK):** /kəˈdʒəʊləri/

## Meanings
1. persuasion by flattery, coaxing, or gentle deception

## Examples
- No amount of cajolery could change the judge's mind.

## Synonyms
- coaxing
- wheedling
- flattery
- blandishment
- inveiglement
- persuasion
- blarney

## Antonyms
- coercion
- force

## Related Forms
- cajole
- cajoler

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: cajolerie

## Etymology
From French cajolerie, from cajoler ('to coax, flatter'), of uncertain origin, perhaps a blend of cageoler ('to chatter like a caged jay') and gaioler ('to lure').

## AI Etymology
Cajolery comes from French cajolerie, from cajoler ('to coax, flatter'), of uncertain origin, perhaps a blend of cageoler ('to chatter like a caged jay') and gaioler ('to lure'). The historical trail runs through cajolerie in French. The history must be left partly open, preserving the uncertainty rather than forcing a single unsupported ancestry. Used as a noun, cajolery now means "persuasion by flattery, coaxing, or gentle deception", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in related forms such as cajole and cajoler. That uncertainty is part of the entry: the safest account is the attested form and the limited comparisons preserved with it.

## Topics
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- General Vocabulary

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