blackmail
noun
any payment extorted by intimidation, as by threats of injurious revelations or accusations.
have blackmailed
-
present perfectof blackmail.present perfect
Used to describe actions that started in the past and continue into or have direct relevance to the present.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
We couldn’t have blackmailed you if you hadn’t been hiding who you are, Miguel reminded him, which seemed petty given the circumstances.
From New York Times ● Aug. 3, 2015
But—although I would never have blackmailed her, I think,—she had been mainly in the right.
From The Cords of Vanity A Comedy of Shirking by James Branch Cabell
Bill could have blackmailed many a careless man of prominence, had he been so minded.
From Half a Rogue by Harold MacGrath
