as in threatened
to use blackmail against (someone)
The old man was being blackmailed by his nephew.
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Recent Examples of blackmailed
During her interview with Blanche, Maxwell claimed that her relationship with Wait ended after he was blackmailed for $10 million in exchange for dropping mention of Maxwell from a series of civil lawsuits filed against Epstein.
—
ABC News, 13 May 2026
The show, which premiered on April 9 on Netflix, centers on siblings Nicky (Dan) and Morgan (Taylor Ortega), who get blackmailed into the world of organized crime.
—Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 13 Apr. 2026
Dan Levy knows exactly what keeps him up at night, as the possibility of being blackmailed into committing crimes has haunted him for years.
—Kennedy French, Variety, 11 Apr. 2026
The show follows two directionless siblings, Morgan and Nicky (Levy), who are blackmailed into the world of organized crime.
—Carly Thomas, HollywoodReporter, 10 Apr. 2026
When he gets blackmailed by a mystery man, Reeves' character gets help from his high school besties, played by Cameron Diaz and Matt Bomer.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 10 Apr. 2026
In Big Mistakes, Levy and Taylor Ortega play siblings who shoplift a necklace from a jewelry store to give to their grandmother on her deathbed, only to be blackmailed by the mobsters that run the place into a series of increasingly stupid and dangerous errands.
—K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 3 Apr. 2026
When Martin gets blackmailed by gangsters, the pair knock off a mafia henchman and plunge themselves deep into the Australian underworld, all while trying to keep their business afloat.
—David Faris, TheWeek, 4 Mar. 2026
Decades before, Monroe was blackmailed by the CIA into becoming a mole in Zapata's Mexico City operation.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Feb. 2026
ABC News, 13 May 2026
The show, which premiered on April 9 on Netflix, centers on siblings Nicky (Dan) and Morgan (Taylor Ortega), who get blackmailed into the world of organized crime.
—Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 13 Apr. 2026
Dan Levy knows exactly what keeps him up at night, as the possibility of being blackmailed into committing crimes has haunted him for years.
—Kennedy French, Variety, 11 Apr. 2026
The show follows two directionless siblings, Morgan and Nicky (Levy), who are blackmailed into the world of organized crime.
—Carly Thomas, HollywoodReporter, 10 Apr. 2026
When he gets blackmailed by a mystery man, Reeves' character gets help from his high school besties, played by Cameron Diaz and Matt Bomer.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 10 Apr. 2026
In Big Mistakes, Levy and Taylor Ortega play siblings who shoplift a necklace from a jewelry store to give to their grandmother on her deathbed, only to be blackmailed by the mobsters that run the place into a series of increasingly stupid and dangerous errands.
—K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 3 Apr. 2026
When Martin gets blackmailed by gangsters, the pair knock off a mafia henchman and plunge themselves deep into the Australian underworld, all while trying to keep their business afloat.
—David Faris, TheWeek, 4 Mar. 2026
Decades before, Monroe was blackmailed by the CIA into becoming a mole in Zapata's Mexico City operation.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blackmailed
Verb
-
Democrats have threatened to do the same in blue states.—
Ashley Wu,
New York Times,
18 May 2026
-
Cuban officials defended the attack, claiming the planes repeatedly violated Cuban airspace and threatened their sovereignty.—
Rick Jervis,
USA Today,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
Dwight reached out and squeezed my upper arm, pulling me into a bear hug, smashing my face against the rough canvas of his jacket, his gloved hand on my ass pulling me closer.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 May 2026
-
Patrick Mahomes’ torn right ACL and LCL prevented a late-season surge that might have squeezed KC into the postseason and another fateful meeting.—
Tim Graham,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
To dispose of his body, the group allegedly used a familiar method, placing it in a crematorium furnace in a local funeral home whose owner was being extorted by another Hells Angels member.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
22 Apr. 2026
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Kraken, one of the world’s oldest crypto exchanges, said it’s being extorted by a criminal group that claims to have access to some client account information.—
Olga Kharif,
Bloomberg,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Qassem and Hanan drove from one hospital to another, trying to find Malak, while Ali stayed behind and kept looking for Zahra.—
Rania Abouzeid,
New Yorker,
21 May 2026
-
In the Patriot League, Madison Adams went 3-for-3 with two triples and drove in two runs, backing Caroline Arruda’s 11 strikeouts as Marshfield blanked Plymouth North 11-0.—
Kristina Banahan,
Boston Herald,
20 May 2026
Verb
-
Jon Burge coerced the confession.—
Jake Sheridan,
Chicago Tribune,
14 May 2026
-
Without that market competition, the plaintiffs argued, gamers were coerced into paying higher prices, effectively allowing Sony to monopolize the sale of its digital PlayStation games.—
Drew Pittock,
USA Today,
4 May 2026
Verb
-
Estevao has impressed as an out-and-out winger this season, but sees himself as a No 10 too.—
Cerys Jones,
New York Times,
21 May 2026
-
The talented dancers, acrobats and thrill acts that paved the way to the finale impressed him to no end.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 May 2026
Verb
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Another neighbor, who didn’t respond to CNN’s request for comment, also harassed him with drones, Connell said.—
Karina Tsui,
CNN Money,
18 May 2026
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And more than 1 in 5 Asian American Pacific Islanders reported being harassed or insulted in the past year because of their race.—
Alicia Victoria Lozano,
NBC news,
14 May 2026
Verb
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But, according to the Department of Homeland Security, the majority of trafficking victims—seventy-seven per cent—are forced into labor.—
Yudhijit Bhattacharjee,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
The fire destroyed two structures — a cabin and an equipment shed — and forced the evacuation of 11 National Park Service employees, who were rescued by a Santa Barbara County Fire Department helicopter.—
Jack Flemming,
Los Angeles Times,
18 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Blackmailed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blackmailed. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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