blackmail

[ blak-meyl ]

noun

1. any payment extorted by intimidation, as by threats of injurious revelations or accusations.
2. the extortion of such payment:

   He confessed rather than suffer the dishonor of blackmail.

3. a tribute formerly exacted in the north of England and in Scotland by freebooting chiefs for protection from pillage.

verb (used with object)

1. to extort money from (a person) by the use of threats.
2. to force or coerce into a particular action, statement, etc.:

   The strikers claimed they were blackmailed into signing the new contract.

blackmail

/ ˈblækˌmeɪl /

noun

1. the act of attempting to obtain money by intimidation, as by threats to disclose discreditable information
2. the exertion of pressure or threats, esp unfairly, in an attempt to influence someone's actions

verb

1. to exact or attempt to exact (money or anything of value) from (a person) by threats or intimidation; extort
2. to attempt to influence the actions of (a person), esp by unfair pressure or threats

Derived Forms

• ˈblackmailer, noun

Other Words From

• blackmailer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of blackmail¹

First recorded in 1545–55; black + mail ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of blackmail¹

C16: see black , mail ³

Example Sentences

Be kind and fierce and don’t bend an inch to this emotional blackmail.

From Washington Post

Now crypto is at the center of a wide swath of illegal schemes, including blackmail scams, Covid-19 vaccine counterfeits, money laundering operations, and illicit sales on the darknet.

From Vox

A few days later, Pearson exposed the blackmail of Bridges and Welker.

From Washington Post

Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell issued a statement in early April describing the corporate pushback on voting measures as “economic blackmail” that would result in “serious consequences.”

From Time

Ransomeware is highly effective when coupled with the exfiltration of secrets to add blackmail pressure for companies and institutions to pay up.

From Search Engine Land

Plus, his known drug dealings certainly made him vulnerable to blackmail.

From The Daily Beast

Americans are giving in to North Korean blackmail—and it will only get worse.

From The Daily Beast

Back in England, Hitchcock made the transition from silents to sound with Blackmail, Britain's first talkie.

From The Daily Beast

VanDyke confirmed the attack on his website, writing that SEA had emailed him a blackmail threat.

From The Daily Beast

The more accomplished students took classes in safe-cracking, burglary, blackmail, and confidence games.

From The Daily Beast

If this stinking quartet takes it into its head to levy annual blackmail, where is the money coming from?

From Project Gutenberg

Bois l'Hery's horses were unsound, Schwalbach's gallery was a swindle, Moessard's articles a recognised blackmail.

From Project Gutenberg

The only possible scandal lies in the fact that Mrs. Withers paid blackmail for years.

From Project Gutenberg

He attempted to blackmail my father, as he had already done so many times, but his scheme was frustrated.

From Project Gutenberg

All the American press is not founded upon this system of virtual blackmail.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bribe
• bribery
• extortion

More About Blackmail

What does blackmail mean?

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.

Blackmail can also be used as a verb meaning to do such a thing.

Less commonly, blackmail can refer specifically to a payment made due to threats or coercion.

Perhaps the most common blackmail scenario is forcing someone to pay money in order to avoid having a negative secret revealed about them.

Blackmail is a serious crime, but sometimes the word is applied to less serious situations. For example, making your sibling do your chores so you don’t tattle on them to your parents for something they did is definitely blackmail.

Example: My life is an open book, so you have nothing to blackmail me with—everyone already knows all my secrets!

Where does blackmail come from?

The first records of blackmail come from the 1500s. Black is used in the sense of “bad” or “evil.” Mail doesn’t refer to the letters that we send through the post office but instead to another sense of the word meaning “payment” or “tax,” from the Old English māl, meaning “agreement.” In the original sense of blackmail, it was a forced agreement. In the 1500s, Scottish chieftains engaged in a protection racket in which they’d force farmers in Scotland and northern England to pay for protection against plunder. (Nowadays, we’d probably call this kind of scheme extortion.) It wasn’t until a few hundred years later that blackmail came to be used in its current, more general sense.

Most commonly, blackmail refers to the act of threatening to reveal a secret that will ruin someone’s reputation unless they pay or submit to other demands. It’s especially associated with public figures such as politicians and celebrities, who are often the target of such blackmail attempts. But blackmail can happen in different ways and on different scales. Emotional blackmail refers to actions like withholding affection to get something desired. Nuclear blackmail refers to a nation threatening to use its nuclear weapons in order to influence the actions of another country.

What’s the difference between blackmail and extortion?

The two words can be used interchangeably. Extortion, though, is often used more broadly, and often refers to coercion through threats of violence or the abuse of one’s authority.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to blackmail?

• blackmailer (noun)

What are some synonyms for blackmail?

• extortion

What are some words that share a root or word element with blackmail? 

 

• black
• mail
• blackguard

 

What are some words that often get used in discussing blackmail?

 

• secret
• reveal
• pay
• force
• scheme
• information
• target

How is blackmail used in real life?

Blackmail is often used to refer to a crime, especially one targeting politicians or celebrities. But it can be used in less serious contexts as well.

How the hell is this dude still in office after all the kidnapping and blackmail charges?

— Calvin (@calvinstowell) April 17, 2018

Sorry to say that my twitter , insta and FB accounts and my emails have been hacked into and the hacker is now trying to blackmail me .I’m so sorry if you got any strange private messages but they weren’t from me. We know who this person is and on it ! My twitter is now secured

— Lizzie Cundy (@lizziecundy) January 13, 2020

Fezzik has figured out that when he whines we all go into high alert mode in case it’s another scare with his heart and has been using that to emotionally blackmail me into giving him constant belly rubs. I haven’t gotten a thing done all day. My left hand is a part of him now.

— Sarah McGonagall (@sarahmcgphoto) December 18, 2019

 

 

Try using blackmail!

True or False? 

Blackmail always involves forcing someone to pay money to prevent a secret about them from being revealed.