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- DictionaryBlack·mail/ˈblakˌmāl/
noun
- 1. the action, treated as a criminal offense, of demanding payment or another benefit from someone in return for not revealing compromising or damaging information about them: "they were acquitted of charges of blackmail"
verb
- 1. demand money or another benefit from (someone) in return for not revealing compromising or damaging information about them: "trying to blackmail him for $400,000"
The meaning of BLACKMAIL is a tribute anciently exacted on the Scottish border by plundering chiefs in exchange for immunity from pillage. How to use blackmail in a sentence.
the act of threatening to harm someone or someone's reputation unless the person does as you say, or a payment made to someone who has threatened to harm you or your reputation if you fail to pay the person: Reckless behavior made him an easy target for blackmail. blackmail. verb [ T ] us / ˈblækˌmeɪl /
Blackmail is the use of threat to prevent another from engaging in a lawful occupation and writing libelous letters or letters that provoke a breach of the peace, as well as use of intimidation for purposes of collecting an unpaid debt.
Blackmail is the act of attempting to force someone to do something or give up something valuable by threatening negative consequences if they don’t, especially revealing negative information about them.
Feb 17, 2019 · With blackmail, a person threatens to reveal personal information instead of using threats of harm or destruction. Though there is a difference between blackmail and extortion, the law considers both criminal acts.
to exact or attempt to exact (money or anything of value) from (a person) by threats or intimidation; extort. to attempt to influence the actions of (a person), esp by unfair pressure or threats.
To blackmail someone is to use secret information to get something from them, usually money. Blackmailing is a crime.
the act of putting pressure on a person or a group to do something they do not want to do, for example by making threats or by making them feel guilty. emotional/moral blackmail. We can’t let them practise this emotional blackmail on us. Oxford Collocations Dictionary. Word Origin.
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. [...] 2. 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.
1. a payment extorted by intimidation, as by threats of prosecution or injurious revelations. 2. the extortion of such payment. 3. a tribute formerly exacted in the north of England and in Scotland by freebooting chiefs for protection from pillage.