as in gangsters
a person who gets money from another by using force or threats
the blackmailer threatened to tell the media about the mayor's arrest as a teenager
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of blackmailers
Despite paying off blackmailers and marrying Lady Olivia Hedges (Danielle Galligan) to protect his secret, Arthur still loses his father’s Parliament seat after getting caught committing election fraud.
—
Lynsey Eidell, PEOPLE, 27 Sep. 2025
Grandchildren are being summoned to help grandparents deal with blackmailers.
—Yvonne Zipp, Christian Science Monitor, 17 Sep. 2025
Lynsey Eidell, PEOPLE, 27 Sep. 2025
Grandchildren are being summoned to help grandparents deal with blackmailers.
—Yvonne Zipp, Christian Science Monitor, 17 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blackmailers
Noun
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One of the most innovative gangsters of the 20th century, Frank Lucas earned the title of Harlem drug kingpin in the late-‘60s and early-‘70s by importing high-quality heroin from Southeast Asia and selling it under the street name Blue Magic.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 June 2026
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Sensing this once-great dynasty is in decline, the outback’s most powerful factions — rival cattle barons, desert gangsters, Indigenous elders, and billionaire miners — move in for the kill, with billions of dollars at stake.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
4 June 2026
Noun
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The masked thugs deposit a tearful middle-aged woman in front of Bass, Newsom, and Harris.—
Conor Friedersdorf,
The Atlantic,
12 May 2026
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White thugs destroyed it in the 1921 Race Massacre.—
Jasmine Desiree,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2026
Noun
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As the bomb squad works to disarm it, FBI rushes to catch the extortionists.—
William Earl,
Variety,
29 Apr. 2026
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These kinds of sweeping outages are typically the result either of ransomware attacks, where online extortionists paralyse corporate networks in the hope of payment, or deliberate sabotage.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
20 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The characters were based on a real family of bookmakers and racketeers who once lived in England.—
Sarah Moore,
Freep.com,
5 Mar. 2026
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When Ferrara was starting out, private investment in low-budget films was spurred by tax loopholes, a way for doctors, dentists, and racketeers to get rid of extra cash that would otherwise wind up in Uncle Sam’s grubby mitts.—
Nick Pinkerton,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Blackmailers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blackmailers. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
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