blackmail

noun

/ˈblækmeɪl/

[uncountable]

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the crime of demanding money from a person by threatening to tell somebody else a secret about themTopics Crime and punishmentc1
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- emotional
- moral
- economic
- …
blackmail + noun
- attempt
- threat
- plot
- …
See full entry
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
adjective
- emotional
- moral
- economic
- …
blackmail + noun
- attempt
- threat
- plot
- …
See full entry

Word Originmid 16th cent. (denoting protection money levied by Scottish chiefs): from black + obsolete mail ‘tribute, rent’, from Old Norse mál ‘speech, agreement’.

blackmail

verb

/ˈblækmeɪl/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they blackmail	/ˈblækmeɪl/ /ˈblækmeɪl/
he / she / it blackmails	/ˈblækmeɪlz/ /ˈblækmeɪlz/
past simple blackmailed	/ˈblækmeɪld/ /ˈblækmeɪld/
past participle blackmailed	/ˈblækmeɪld/ /ˈblækmeɪld/
-ing form blackmailing	/ˈblækmeɪlɪŋ/ /ˈblækmeɪlɪŋ/

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to force somebody to give you money or do something for you by threatening them, for example by saying you will tell people a secret about them
- blackmail somebody She blackmailed him for years by threatening to tell the newspapers about their affair.
- blackmail somebody into doing something The president said he wouldn't be blackmailed into agreeing to the terrorists' demands.
Extra Examples
- Don't let him emotionally blackmail you.
- She says she was virtually blackmailed into giving up her claim to the property.
- Voters were effectively blackmailed into voting ‘Yes’.
Topics Crime and punishmentc1
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- effectively
- virtually
- emotionally
- …
verb + blackmail
- attempt to
- try to
preposition
- into
See full entry
Word Originmid 16th cent. (denoting protection money levied by Scottish chiefs): from black + obsolete mail ‘tribute, rent’, from Old Norse mál ‘speech, agreement’.