kompromat
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of kompromat
First recorded in 1990–95; short for kompro(metiruyushchiy) mat(erial), literally, “compromising material”
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.
The Russian language has introduced a few words that in recent years have been widely used and misused in English: disinformation, kompromat, Novichok.
From New York Times ● Feb. 21, 2021
There are many potential answers: Russian kompromat, Twitter flaming, primary challengers and so on.
From Salon ● Jan. 28, 2020
Dzhirkvelov describes how West German journalists on a PR trip to Moscow in May 1961 were told that the KGB possessed highly classified kompromat, or compromising material, on Strauss.
From Slate ● Nov. 22, 2019
He alleged that the illegal materials had been planted on his computer as a form of kompromat, or compromising material commonly used in the former Soviet Union to embarrass or blackmail political adversaries.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 30, 2019
Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas: All right, director, can you describe to the American people the Russian concept of kompromat?
From Washington Times ● Nov. 26, 2017
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
