blackmail
- blackmail
- [[t]blæ̱kmeɪl[/t]]
blackmails, blackmailing, blackmailed
1) N-UNCOUNT Blackmail is the action of threatening to reveal a secret about someone, unless they do something you tell them to do, such as giving you money.
It looks like the pictures were being used for blackmail...
Opponents accused him of blackmail and extortion.
2)
N-UNCOUNT (disapproval) If you describe an action as emotional or moral
blackmail, you disapprove of it because someone is using a person's emotions or moral values to persuade them to do something against their will.
The tactics employed can range from overt bullying to subtle emotional blackmail.
3) VERB If one person blackmails another person, they use blackmail against them.
[V n] He told her their affair would have to stop, because Jack Smith was blackmailing him...
[V n] The government insisted that it would not be blackmailed by violence...
[V n into -ing/n] I thought he was trying to blackmail me into saying whatever he wanted. [Also V n with n]
Derived words:
blackmailer plural N-COUNT The nasty thing about a blackmailer is that his starting point is usually the truth.
English dictionary.
2008.
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Look at other dictionaries:
blackmail — black·mail / blak ˌmāl/ n [originally, payment extorted from farmers in Scotland and northern England, from black + dialectal mail payment, rent]: extortion or coercion by often written threats esp. of public exposure, physical harm, or criminal… … Law dictionary
Blackmail — is the crime of threatening to reveal substantially true information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand made upon the victim is met. This information is usually of an embarrassing and/or socially damaging … Wikipedia
Blackmail — (engl. „Erpressung“) bezeichnet: im englischen den Erpresserbrief eines Blackhanders (Synonym für Erpresser); siehe Black Hand (Erpressung) Blackmail, Originaltitel des Films Erpressung von Alfred Hitchcock von 1929 Blackmail, Originaltitel des… … Deutsch Wikipedia
Blackmail — Black mail , n. [Black + mail a piece of money.] 1. A certain rate of money, corn, cattle, or other thing, anciently paid, in the north of England and south of Scotland, to certain men who were allied to robbers, or moss troopers, to be by them… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Blackmail — Black mail , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Blackmailed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Blackmailing}.] To extort money from by exciting fears of injury other than bodily harm, as injury to reputation, distress of mind, etc.; as, to blackmail a merchant by threatening… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
blackmail — [n] intimidation for money; money to quiet informer bribe, bribery, exaction, extortion, hush money*, milking*, payoff, protection, ransom, slush fund*, tribute; concepts 123,192 blackmail [v] intimidating for money badger, bleed, coerce, compel … New thesaurus
blackmail — ► NOUN 1) the demanding of money from someone in return for not revealing discreditable information. 2) the use of threats or manipulation in an attempt to influence someone s actions. ► VERB ▪ subject to blackmail. DERIVATIVES blackmailer noun.… … English terms dictionary
blackmail — [blak′māl΄] n. [lit., black rent < ME male, rent, tribute < OE mal, lawsuit, terms < ON lawsuit, discussion; infl. in ME by OFr maille, a coin] 1. Historical a tribute paid to freebooters and bandits along the Scottish border to assure… … English World dictionary
blackmail — ▪ I. blackmail black‧mail 1 [ˈblækmeɪl] noun [uncountable] LAW demanding money from a person or organization by threatening them, for example threatening to tell secrets about them if they do not pay: • Most of his wealth had been acquired… … Financial and business terms
Blackmail — Para Película de Lesley Selander, véase Blackmail (1947). Blackmail Museo Británico, donde se desarrolla el climax de la película Título Blackmail … Wikipedia Español
