blacklist

American  

[blak-list] / ˈblækˌlɪst /

noun

1. a list of persons under suspicion, disfavor, censure, etc..

   His record as an anarchist put him on the government's blacklist.

2. a list privately exchanged among employers, containing the names of persons to be barred from employment because of untrustworthiness or for holding opinions considered undesirable.

3. a list drawn up by a labor union, containing the names of employers to be boycotted for unfair labor practices.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to put (a person, group, company, etc.) on a blacklist.

   Synonyms:

   ostracize, shun, ban, proscribe, debar, bar, blackball

blacklist British  

/ ˈblækˌlɪst /

noun

1. a list of persons or organizations under suspicion, or considered untrustworthy, disloyal, etc, esp one compiled by a government or an organization

---

verb

1. (tr) to put on a blacklist

blacklist Cultural  

1. Concerted action by employers to deny employment to someone suspected of unacceptable opinions or behavior. For example, individual workers suspected of favoring labor unions have often been blacklisted by all the employers in a region.

---

Discover More

During the McCarthy era (see Joseph P. McCarthy) in the 1950s, the careers of many public figures suspected of communist activities were ruined by blacklisting.

Other Word Forms

• blacklisting
  noun

Etymology

Origin of blacklist

First recorded in 1610–20; black + list ¹

Explanation

When people are deliberately excluded from a group or boycotted, the list of their names is a blacklist. Several industries created blacklists during the US anti-communist period of the 1940s and 50s. One of the most famous blacklists was the one established in Hollywood in 1947, with the intention of keeping Communists and their "sympathizers" from working in the film industry. You can use the word as a verb too, meaning to put someone's name on such a list, or to exclude them from employment or inclusion. The term itself dates all the way back to the 17th century, when it was defined as "list of persons who have incurred suspicion."

Example Sentences

In February, the Pentagon added Chinese technology heavyweights including Alibaba to a blacklist of Chinese military contractors, and immediately retracted it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

For condominiums, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac blacklist buildings with significant deferred maintenance or thin reserves.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026

The company is also dealing with the fallout of its dispute with the U.S. government, which decided to blacklist Anthropic on Friday and to designate the company a supply-chain risk from a national-security perspective.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 2, 2026

In the proclamation, the White House alleged high crime rates from some countries on the blacklist and problems with routine record-keeping for passports.

From Barron's • Dec. 16, 2025

"I don't think you have any cause to blacklist Mr. Norcross," I said.

From The Wreckers by Lynde, Francis

Related Words

• banish
• blackball
• expel
• ostracize
• snub