blackmail

verb

Definition of blackmailnext
as in to threaten
to use blackmail against (someone) The old man was being blackmailed by his nephew.

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for blackmail
  1. threaten
  2. squeeze
  3. drive
  4. extort
  5. impress
  6. coerce
  7. force
Verb
  • London’s Design Museum is hoping people will want to look at said swimsuit without Anderson threatening to pop out of it like a chestburster from the Alien movies.
    George Nelson, ARTnews.com, 11 Dec. 2024
  • In 2013, researchers at University of Wisconsin put people in MRI machines and threatened to shock them at random.
    Kevin Kruse, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of threaten
Verb
  • Reusable Pizza Storage Container (5-Pack) This triangular container is way easier to squeeze into the fridge than a bulky pizza box.
    Jessica Kasparian, SELF, 10 Dec. 2024
  • Translated, the budget pressures that Fitch expects to continue squeezing higher education are coming from rising costs and stagnant public support and not necessarily from market retraction.
    Derek Newton, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024
Definition of squeeze
Verb
  • Slice has released exclusive apps that accommodate popular contactless payment solutions and enable convenient QR technology to drive self-service experiences among other improvements.
    Chris Gallagher, USA TODAY, 16 Dec. 2024
  • While American tech giants have driven much of the country’s recent innovation, the future doesn’t lie in further consolidating power in the hands of Big Tech.
    Steve Forbes, Forbes, 15 Dec. 2024
Definition of drive
Verb
  • The Justice Department’s unsealed complaint alleges that Martin groomed, extorted, and threatened underage girls, forcing them to harm themselves or others while recording the acts.
    Olivia Rose, The Arizona Republic, 13 Dec. 2024
  • These apps steal sensitive data, trap users in predatory loan schemes, and extort money.
    Emil Sayegh, Forbes, 4 Dec. 2024
Definition of extort
Verb
  • Some celebrities, like Lorde and Charlize Theron, impressed viewers with minimal reactions to the spiciest chicken.
    Conor Murray, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024
  • Oracle proceeded to have its worst day of the year, and shares were down 6.67% by Tuesday’s close as its quarter failed to impress.
    Julie Coleman, CNBC, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of impress
Verb
  • Wynant’s character is coerced into releasing a man imprisoned in a monastery who turns out to be the devil.
    Nick Thomas, Hartford Courant, 5 Nov. 2024
  • Vance also suggested that wealthy parents might go so far as to coerce their children to undergo gender surgeries to get into better colleges and universities.
    Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY, 1 Nov. 2024
Definition of coerce
Verb
  • Posey wasn’t sufficiently deterred by the fact that signing Adames, who had been extended a qualifying offer by the Brewers, will force the Giants to sacrifice their second- and fifth-round picks along with $1 million in international bonus money from their 2026 pool.
    Andrew Baggarly, The Athletic, 8 Dec. 2024
  • Meanwhile, in 1739 Scotland, Roger (Richard Rankin) and Buck (Diarmaid Murtagh) track down the tinker who lost a bet and was forced to part with Roger’s father’s WWI identification tags.
    Lincee Ray, EW.com, 7 Dec. 2024
Definition of force
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near blackmail

blackly

blackmail

blackmailed

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Blackmail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blackmail. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

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More from Merriam-Webster on blackmail

Nglish: Translation of blackmail for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of blackmail for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about blackmail

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