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

Trump is putting himself center stage in the midterms with a Dallas convention, even as his low approval rating threatens to drag down GOP candidates.

— Zac Anderson, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2026
Against this microcosm of the class war Lee sets the emergence of artificial intelligence, which threatens to further destabilize labor across a range of industries — including his own.

— Matt Brennan, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of threatens

Verb

Eccles’s fix is a set of compression bags paired with a cordless pump, which squeezes clothing down, so everything fits without overstuffing a suitcase.

— Jacqueline Dole, Travel + Leisure, 7 Sep. 2026
That obviously makes Labor Day a particularly good excuse to mix a cocktail that squeezes a little more out of summer.

— Emily Price, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of squeezes

Verb

But Argano, who drives Engine 10, isn't quite ready to pack it in.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 11 Sep. 2026
Also at play are generic and biosimilar products that have come onto the market, offering competition that drives down the prices of expensive brand-name and biologic drugs.

— Melissa Goldin, Chicago Tribune, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of drives

Verb

View gallery - 15 images Dragon Tiny Homes regularly impresses us with its ultra-portable models.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 6 Sep. 2026
Alas, right at the film’s finish line, Swanberg backstabs his own commitment to honesty when one of Wendy’s pursuers impresses her with a magical ex machina.

— Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 2 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

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
Benedict and Sophie meet again in the countryside when Sophie protects a fellow maid after a group of Benedict’s acquaintances harasses her.

— Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026

Definition of harasses

Verb

M’Benga drags him into a private room to discuss the situation, and whether or not Reeger is driven by revenge, not reason.

— Keith Phipps, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2026
New York — The Iran war has saddled Americans with a massive energy bill that continues to mount as the conflict drags on.

— Matt Egan, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of drags

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“Blackmails.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blackmails. Accessed 15 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of blackmails

verb

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