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
Meanwhile, Stephen dangles the prospect of a normal relationship before Lucy, then blackmails her for sleeping with Evan behind Bree’s back during freshman year.
—
Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 13 Jan. 2026
Donald wins the governor’s race, but Lee blackmails him into signing over his family’s land to the Osage Nation in memory of his late brother.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2025
Shay blackmails him, triggering a father-son feud.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2025
Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 13 Jan. 2026
Donald wins the governor’s race, but Lee blackmails him into signing over his family’s land to the Osage Nation in memory of his late brother.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2025
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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The message here is that lack of trust threatens to stall growth, transformation and innovation, and businesses must put in the effort to earn credibility through transparency, accountability and a commitment to aligning themselves with customer values.—
Bernard Marr,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
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By the closing epilogue of the MM romance novel, the author must figure out how to create honest stakes for a gay couple in an overwhelmingly heteronormative context that threatens the heroes with societal subjugation and maybe even physical punishment.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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As the moon follows an elliptical path, Saturn’s gravity stretches and squeezes it.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Dec. 2025
-
View gallery - 12 images This recently completed tiny house squeezes a lot of living space into a compact footprint using clever design.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
27 Nov. 2025
Verb
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So, say some small-time businessmen hire a truck through a dispatcher, the truck drives up to a field, and there, along the perimeter, a forklift crane pulls the pipe up from the sand.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Jan. 2026
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James said winning, not headlines, stories or podcasts, is what drives him, now in his unprecedented 23rd NBA season.—
Janis Carr,
Oc Register,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The Mary Rose Museum If HMS Victory impresses through grandeur, the Mary Rose Museum resonates on a more personal level.—
David Nikel,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
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But Prows takes big, decisive swings when the plot does manage to pick up, and ultimately, the audience is rewarded with a tonally chunky experience that isn’t for everyone but impresses as both otherworldly and authentic.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
16 Jan. 2026
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.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
4 Dec. 2025
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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.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
14 Nov. 2025
Verb
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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.—
Ethan Shanfeld,
Variety,
22 Jan. 2026
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Independent groups like Human Rights Watch say the Venezuelan government intimidates human rights advocates, arrests and detains protesters and harasses journalists.—
Syra Ortiz Blanes,
Miami Herald,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But scenes like this in Minneapolis, where one officer drags a woman and another points his gun at bystanders, have raised questions about their conduct.—
Cecilia Vega,
CBS News,
19 Jan. 2026
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An officer then drags him by the hood of his jacket.—
Ruben Vives,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Blackmails.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blackmails. Accessed 27 Jan. 2026.
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