kompromat

noun

kom·​pro·​mat ˈkäm-prə-ˌmat How to pronounce kompromat (audio)
-ˌmät
: compromising information that is used to blackmail or discredit a person or group usually for political purposes
… alleged to have kompromat on elites from two continents and across the political spectrum …Tim Dickinson
The Russian press and Internet thrive on kompromat, "compromised material," which is usually bought from underpaid government security-force employees or former security agents ….Maureen Orth
… technology companies may already have more info about your personal life than a Russian kompromat dossier.Jeremy Horwitz

Examples of kompromat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Some people suggested that Prigozhin had kompromat on Putin and that was why Putin didn’t dare get rid of him. Foreign Affairs, 23 Aug. 2023 Did Russia have kompromat on Trump? Craig Unger, The New Republic, 1 Feb. 2023 One of your main collectors who spoke to the inspector general said that, especially the kompromat, was word of mouth and hearsay, conversations with friends over beers. ABC News, 17 Oct. 2021 Steele then tapped his network of Russian contacts to mine for compromising information—kompromat—on Trump. Paul Starobin, Wired, 17 July 2021 The fact that Raniere collected kompromat from DOS members strongly suggests that his psychological coercion techniques were not, by themselves, sufficient to keep women acquiescent. Zoë Heller, The New Yorker, 5 July 2021 The Russian language has introduced a few words that in recent years have been widely used and misused in English: disinformation, kompromat, Novichok. New York Times, 21 Feb. 2021

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Russian kompromát, from komprometírujuščij materiál "compromising material"

First Known Use

1990, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of kompromat was in 1990

Dictionary Entries Near kompromat

Cite this Entry

“Kompromat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kompromat. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

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