as in to threaten
to use blackmail against (someone)
The old man was being blackmailed by his nephew.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blackmail
Verb
-
The third season, based on Michael Connelly’s best-selling novels Desert Star and The Black Ice, will center on a murder investigation of Kurt Dockweiler, which threatens to ruin the lives of the series’ three main characters.—
Etan Vlessing,
The Hollywood Reporter,
27 Feb. 2025 -
Decimating agencies, military, siding with a terrorist state, threatening to invade US allies, stripping services from vets, ceding US power to Russia and China.—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
27 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
The international order forged after World War II is imploding, squeezed on all sides by the return of strongmen, nationalism and spheres of influence — with President Trump leading the charge.—
Zachary Basu,
Axios,
28 Feb. 2025
-
Goldman Sachs previously estimated that these tariffs could increase inflation by 1 percent while squeezing U.S. company profits and risking retaliatory measures from other nations.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
28 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
This misunderstanding of the vital role of multilingualism in our communities, our economy and our government helps drive the anti-immigrant attitude and actions that will only weaken our country.—
Annie Abbott,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Mar. 2025
-
The other victims include the 26-year-old driving the BMW, his 23-year-old passenger and the front passenger of the Camry.—
Cristóbal Reyes,
Orlando Sentinel,
3 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
More recently, she was accused of trying to extort $25,000 from a longtime political opponent her office later charged with a felony.—
Nate Gartrell,
The Mercury News,
24 Feb. 2025
-
Mayers didn’t testify in his own defense, but his lawyer Joe Tacopina subjected Ephron to a bruising cross-examination that accused him of fabricating the shell casing evidence to try to extort his wealthy friend with a $30 million lawsuit.—
Nancy Dillon,
Rolling Stone,
18 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
If the secret aim of Train to Busan was to leave a calling card, this will certainly impress backers with bigger budgets.—
Mia Galuppo,
The Hollywood Reporter,
28 Feb. 2025
-
The versatile actor impressed critics with a wide range of roles, expertly embodying a New York City detective in one film and Superman's most iconic adversary in the next.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA TODAY,
27 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Trump’s rocky relationship with Zelensky goes back five years—to when Trump first held up military assistance Congress had authorized for Ukraine to coerce Zelensky into investigating his political rival Joe Biden.—
Brian Bennett,
TIME,
5 Mar. 2025
-
A week later, the White House used the threat of tariffs to coerce Mexico into dispatching thousands of additional troops along the U.S.-Mexico border to combat fentanyl smuggling.—
Daniel DePetris,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
However, much to her dismay, she was then forced to treat Damien amid the chaos at the hospital as the heat dome in Seattle continued.—
Stephanie Wenger,
People.com,
7 Mar. 2025
-
You are not forced to go far away to film something that’s far.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
7 Mar. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Blackmail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blackmail. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share