BLACKMAILS Synonyms: 50 Similar and Opposite Words

blackmails

verb

present tense third-person singular of blackmail

as in threatens

to use blackmail against (someone) The old man was being blackmailed by his nephew.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of blackmails The third ended by setting Deborah and Ava on a collision course after Ava blackmails Deborah into becoming head writer of her late-night show, only to render the fallout in cartoonishly broad terms. — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 29 May 2026 Their antagonism peaked at the end of Season 3, when Deborah achieves her dream of landing a late-night chair and Ava blackmails her way into the head-writer job. — Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 29 May 2026 Collet-Serra directed and executive produced the film that focused on Egerton as an inexperienced TSA agent who ends up in a battle of wits with a mysterious traveler (Bateman) after the stranger blackmails him into allowing a dangerous package onto a flight on Christmas Eve. — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 22 May 2026 But is Duncan the devil who manipulates, lies and emotionally blackmails anyone in his orbit? — Stephen Schaefer, Boston Herald, 12 Apr. 2026 Something Duncan says in a session with JoAnne leads her to unload some stock, like Martha Stewart in 2004, and Duncan, working this out, blackmails her into passing on inside information from her clients to him. — Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2026 Eager to have his cake and eat it too, Benedict blackmails Sophie into taking a job with his mother. — Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 30 Jan. 2026 Shay blackmails him, triggering a father-son feud. — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for blackmails

Verb

This is, of course, the conception of fundamentalist theology, which threatens eternal hellfire for anyone who defies its commandments.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026
As a result, the rise in diesel costs threatens to worsen a surge of inflation set off by the outbreak of the Iran war nearly seven months ago.

— ABC News, ABC News, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of threatens

Verb

People’s financial margin for error is generally pretty small, and just the rising cost of most everything just squeezes them more and more.

— Paul Wiseman, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026
Avoiding outlier squeezes requires implementing strict criteria before entering trades.

— David Capablanca, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of squeezes

Verb

Sandra Lim, The Curious Thing While there is an undercurrent of a breakup throughout this collection, particularly in the third section, what drives this book is a reorientation of the self in the world.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026
Speakers noted the Republican nominee's oil and gas investments as the energy sector amasses profits while the Iran war drives up fuel costs.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of drives

Verb

The demo impresses the board, but then the project stalls somewhere between the proof of concept and the balance sheet.

— Jakob Freund, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2026
Final Thoughts Obsbot Meet Flip Obsbot once again impresses with a webcam that offers great-looking, great-sounding video in a ridiculously small package.

— Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 13 Sep. 2026

Definition of impresses

Verb

However, the rotation of this filament clearly dominates how the galaxies within it spin, perhaps by funneling hydrogen gas along the dark-matter filament and onto the galaxies in a way that coerces their spin while providing further fuel for star formation.

— Keith Cooper, Space.com, 4 Dec. 2025
Haunted by the suspicious death of his ailing mother, Ali, a university professor, coerces his enigmatic gardener to execute a cold-blooded act of vengeance.

— Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 14 Nov. 2025

Definition of coerces

Verb

Then Murphy takes a swing at a cop when the flatfoot harasses the two of them during a misunderstanding in an alleyway, and he’s arrested.

— David Fear, Rolling Stone, 16 Sep. 2026
Although China’s maritime militia fleet regularly harasses other countries’ small and vulnerable fishing boats, the container ships and bulk carriers responsible for Taiwan’s commerce dwarf any Chinese militia vessel.

— Eugene Gholz, Foreign Affairs, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of harasses

Verb

Saudi Arabia also is running low on interceptors and has turned to regional and Western allies for assistance as its standoff with Houthi rebels in Yemen drags on.

— Ben Finley, Chicago Tribune, 19 Sep. 2026
But as the war drags on into another winter, its impacts on the region could become more pronounced.

— John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of drags

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“Blackmails.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blackmails. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of blackmails

verb

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