blackmail

blackmail — noun

1. an illegal act where a person is pressured into paying money or doing favours, w

1.nounC2
Definition

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.

Example

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)

Common collocations
  • emotional blackmail
  • commit blackmail
  • victim of blackmail
  • pay blackmail
  • blackmail attempt
Synonyms
  • extortion

    wider scope; includes threats of violence, not only secrets

  • coercion

    any forced compliance; not necessarily for money

  • shakedown

    informal; usually a one-off demand for money

Grammar Patterns

uncountable noun

Usage Note

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.

Common Mistakes

Bram sent me a blackmail yesterday.
Bram sent me a blackmail letter yesterday.
'blackmail' is uncountable; you cannot say 'a blackmail'.
They committed blackmails against the manager.
They committed acts of blackmail against the manager.
no plural form; use 'acts of blackmail' to count instances.

blackmail — verb

Word family

  • blackmailer
    nounC2
  • blackmailing
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four verbs involve forcing someone to act against their will, but the type of pressure differs. 'Blackmail' specifically threatens to reveal a damaging secret or to cause personal harm if the victim does not comply, and is a named criminal offence in most legal systems. 'Extort' is broader: it covers obtaining money or favours through any kind of threat, including violence or abuse of office, and is the standard legal term in the United States. 'Coerce' is the most general — to force someone by any pressure, including emotional, social, or physical — and need not involve a crime at all. 'Intimidate' focuses on frightening someone into silence or compliance, often without any specific demand attached. So a gangster may extort a shop owner with violence, blackmail a politician with photos, coerce a witness with threats to family, and intimidate jurors merely by glaring.

blackmail ↗extortcoerceintimidate ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • blackmail attempt
  • blackmail letter
  • blackmail victim
  • blackmail plot
  • emotional blackmail

Adverbs

  • successfully blackmail
  • allegedly blackmail

Phrases

  • a victim of blackmail
  • commit blackmail
  • fall victim to blackmail
  • resort to blackmail

Prepositions

  • blackmail somebody into (doing something)
  • blackmail somebody with (evidence)
  • blackmail somebody for (money)

Etymology

Old NorseScottish EnglishEnglish

First recorded in 1500s Scotland, originally describing the protection money that highland chiefs demanded from farmers along the border in exchange for not raiding their land. The 'mail' here is an old Scottish word meaning 'rent' or 'tribute' (from Old Norse 'mál', meaning agreement or speech), and 'black' marked the payment as illegitimate or evil, in contrast with 'white rent' paid in silver. By the 1700s the meaning had broadened from rural protection rackets to any payment extracted by threats, and by the 1800s it covered the modern idea of demanding money in exchange for keeping a secret.