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
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
Rights defenders have said that the country's top security agency, which still goes under its Soviet-era name KGB, has blackmailed members of LGBTQ+ community to force them to cooperate.
—ABC News, 2 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
The first is the showdown with Whitney on CNN after Eric learns he’s being blackmailed.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 15 Feb. 2026
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
Rights defenders have said that the country's top security agency, which still goes under its Soviet-era name KGB, has blackmailed members of LGBTQ+ community to force them to cooperate.
—ABC News, 2 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
The first is the showdown with Whitney on CNN after Eric learns he’s being blackmailed.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 15 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blackmailed
Verb
-
Swalwell denied it and threatened to take legal action against the woman.—
Nancy Cordes,
CBS News,
14 Apr. 2026
-
Trump also publicly threatened a lawsuit after denying involvement in creating the lewd drawing when interviewed by the story’s reporters.—
Kevin Dolak,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
As a result, many consumers are feeling squeezed.—
Mike Winters,
CNBC,
10 Apr. 2026
-
The only family in his murals was the one squeezed atop the lintel.—
Judith Shulevitz,
The Atlantic,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Baldoni, 42, last year countersued, bringing claims against Lively and her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, alleging he’d been defamed and extorted and demanding an enormous $400 million in damages.—
Molly Crane-Newman,
New York Daily News,
7 Apr. 2026
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In schemes orchestrated with Iza, Coberg arranged a fake drug arrest and stood guard while a victim was extorted.—
Brittny Mejia,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
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On this day, volunteers drove flowers to a senior living center, where the act of kindness overwhelmed resident Carmela Kemper.—
Sharon Chin,
CBS News,
16 Apr. 2026
-
That experience drove me into public service.—
Christian Mitchell,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The Audacity seems to be setting up a deadly confrontation between them, but there’s still some chance JoAnne can be coerced into playing ball with Duncan.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
12 Apr. 2026
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The criminal syndicates refitted their properties as centres where teams of workers – often trafficked and coerced – run online scams at scale.—
The Week UK,
TheWeek,
12 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Ford recently visited Miami and impressed the coaches with his football IQ, a UM source said.—
Adam Lichtenstein,
Sun Sentinel,
15 Apr. 2026
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The queen’s impeccable self-control impressed many in Washington.—
Hadley Hall Meares,
Vanity Fair,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
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While out on bond in 2023, authorities allege that Hunsucker staged his own kidnapping and intimidated and harassed his late wife's parents.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
8 Apr. 2026
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The following year, the club were made aware of footage of two male Bournemouth supporters intervening after witnessing a woman being harassed on public transport.—
Cerys Jones,
New York Times,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Retailers say the ban forced them to pull 30-50% of their inventory, including some of their top‑selling products.—
Briseida Holguin,
CBS News,
12 Apr. 2026
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Instead, Avdija is at risk of missing out on postseason honors entirely because of a midseason back injury that cost him 16 full games, forced him to leave immediately from a 17th and continues to bug him down the stretch of the season.—
Joe Vardon,
New York Times,
12 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Blackmailed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blackmailed. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.
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