emotional blackmail
noun
: an attempt to control someone with whom one has an emotional connection by tactics that make the person feel guilty or upset
He used emotional blackmail to get what he wanted from her.
Examples of emotional blackmail in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Emma Stone, one of the film’s producers, talked him out of it with some savvy emotional blackmail.
—
Adam B. Vary, Variety, 2 Mar. 2025
Fortunately, the American justice system is blind to emotional blackmail and ideologically motivated reasoning.
—The Editors, National Review, 17 Dec. 2024
This is not bending to emotional blackmail, but responding to his brother’s honesty.
—Amy Dickinson, The Mercury News, 18 Mar. 2024
Don’t act out of spite or engage in emotional blackmail.
—Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 14 Feb. 2024
An election centered on two competing exercises in emotional blackmail isn’t a persuasive enterprise.
—Noah Rothman, National Review, 22 Jan. 2024
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Adam B. Vary, Variety, 2 Mar. 2025
Fortunately, the American justice system is blind to emotional blackmail and ideologically motivated reasoning.
—The Editors, National Review, 17 Dec. 2024
This is not bending to emotional blackmail, but responding to his brother’s honesty.
—Amy Dickinson, The Mercury News, 18 Mar. 2024
Don’t act out of spite or engage in emotional blackmail.
—Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 14 Feb. 2024
An election centered on two competing exercises in emotional blackmail isn’t a persuasive enterprise.
—Noah Rothman, National Review, 22 Jan. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Emotional blackmail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emotional%20blackmail. Accessed 7 May. 2025.
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