as in threatens
to use blackmail against (someone)
The old man was being blackmailed by his nephew.
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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
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
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Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is calling for the impeachment of the Miami-Dade judge who acquitted a woman by reason of insanity in the 2021 death of her 15-month-old daughter, arguing the ruling threatens public safety.
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Tien, wearing tennis shorts and an oversized white T-shirt that threatens to dwarf his modest frame, is eating an omelet from the players cafeteria, but someone seems to have forgotten his spinach.
Verb
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With electric vehicles continuing to gain share, that further squeezes European carmakers.
-
At one point, the SUV squeezes past a traffic cone while making a left turn and narrowly avoids colliding with a large truck.
Verb
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What drives so many people to 1) use racial slurs, then 2) go on Love Island USA?
-
This sector, focusing on vessels over 30 meters, drives manufacturing, skilled employment, and tourism.
Verb
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Newcastle are keen to get the Munoz transfer sealed, given that if the versatile attacker impresses on the global stage, that may prompt greater interest.
-
What impresses Dubi most, however, is not Gasol's fame but his leadership style.
Verb
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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.
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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.
Verb
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Benedict and Sophie meet again in the countryside when Sophie protects a fellow maid after a group of Benedict’s acquaintances harasses her.
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The report includes a screenshot that appears to show Accurso engaging with a comment from an Instagram account that frequently praises Hamas and harasses Jews.
Verb
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There’s a sense that Kaprizov depends too much on Zuccarello and that Zuccarello drags Kaprizov into the east-west game that’s the opposite of how the Wild want to play.
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As the search drags on, the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners on Tuesday commended police for their efforts after weeks of shooting incidents brought international attention to the city’s gun violence problem as thousands of soccer fans visit for the FIFA World Cup.
Cite this Entry
“Blackmails.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blackmails. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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