blackmail
/ˈblækmeɪl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈblækmeɪl/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈblak-ˌmāl/ (ame, mw) · /ˈblæk.meɪl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈblæk.meɪl/ (ame, ipa)
blackmail — noun
1. an illegal act where a person is pressured into paying money or doing favours, w
an illegal act where a person is pressured into paying money or doing favours, with the threat that a damaging secret will be exposed or that they will be hurt if they refuse.
The actor went to the police after receiving letters demanding money and warning of blackmail.
noun phrase: a charge / threat of blackmail
Detective Park believes the photos were used as blackmail to silence the witness.
used as blackmail (instrument of pressure)
Amara was charged with blackmail after threatening to leak her boss's emails.
Two former staff members were arrested for blackmail after demanding cash from the senator.
When Bram refused to pay blackmail, the man demanded twice the amount the following week.
文法句型
uncountable noun
用法筆記
Almost always uncountable. Often appears in legal collocations such as 'commit blackmail', 'charged with blackmail', 'a victim of blackmail', and 'pay blackmail'. Compare with 'extortion', which covers a wider range of threats including violence and damage to property.
常見錯誤
blackmail — verb
1. to force someone to give you money or do what you want by threatening to reveal
to force someone to give you money or do what you want by threatening to reveal a damaging secret about them or to harm them in some way.
The hacker tried to blackmail the CEO with stolen private messages.
blackmail + somebody + with + something
Nikolai was blackmailed into withdrawing her complaint against the manager.
passive: be blackmailed into + -ing
Farouk refused to be blackmailed and reported the threats to the local police.
The minister claims that protesters are trying to blackmail the government into changing the law.
The gang blackmailed the shopkeeper into paying them every month for protection.
- extort
covers any threat (including violence); often used with 'money from'
- coerce
force by any pressure; not limited to threats about secrets
- intimidate
frighten into compliance; no demand for money implied
文法句型
blackmail + somebody
blackmail + somebody + into + doing something
用法筆記
Frequently passive ('be blackmailed into doing something'). The 'into + -ing' pattern is the most common way to state what the victim is forced to do. Subject is usually a person; object must be a person, never an institution as the direct grammatical object.