Definitions for blackmail
ˈblækˌmeɪlblack·mail

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:3.5 / 2 votes

1. blackmailverb

   extortion of money by threats to divulge discrediting information

2. blackmail, blackjack, pressureverb

   exert pressure on someone through threats

3. blackmailverb

   obtain through threats

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. blackmailnoun

   A certain rate of money, corn, cattle, or other thing, anciently paid, in the north of England and south of Scotland, to certain men who were allied to robbers, or moss troopers, to be by them protected from pillage.

2. blackmailnoun

   Payment of money exacted by means of intimidation; also, extortion of money from a person by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure.

3. blackmailnoun

   Black rent, or rent paid in corn, flesh, or the lowest coin, a opposed to white rent, which paid in silver.

   to levy blackmail

4. blackmailverb

   To extort money from by exciting fears of injury other than bodily harm, such as injury to reputation, distress of mind, false accusation, etc.; as, to blackmail a merchant by threatening to expose an alleged fraud.

5. Etymology: From black + mail.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Blackmail

   Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to family members or associates rather than to the general public. These acts can also involve using threats of physical, mental or emotional harm, or of criminal prosecution, against the victim or someone close to the victim. It is normally carried out for personal gain, most commonly of position, money, or property.Blackmail may also be considered a form of extortion. Although the two are generally synonymous, extortion is the taking of personal property by threat of future harm. Blackmail is the use of threat to prevent another from engaging in a lawful occupation and writing libelous letters or letters that provoke a breach of the peace, as well as use of intimidation for purposes of collecting an unpaid debt.In many jurisdictions, blackmail is a statutory offense, often criminal, carrying punitive sanctions for convicted perpetrators. Blackmail is the name of a statutory offense in the United States, England and Wales, and Australia, and has been used as a convenient way of referring to certain other offenses, but was not a term used in English law until 1968.Blackmail was originally a term from the Scottish Borders meaning payments rendered in exchange for protection from thieves and marauders. The "mail" part of blackmail derives from Middle English male meaning "rent or tribute". This tribute (male or reditus) was paid in goods or labour ("nigri"); hence reditus nigri, or "blackmail". Alternatively, it may be derived from two Scottish Gaelic words blathaich - to protect; and mal - tribute or payment.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. blackmail

   Blackmail is the act of threatening to reveal or spread potentially damaging, embarrassing, or harmful information about an individual, unless certain demands— usually involving money, property, or favors— are met. It is a criminal offense and involves elements of coercion, manipulation, and exploitation.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Blackmailnoun

   a certain rate of money, corn, cattle, or other thing, anciently paid, in the north of England and south of Scotland, to certain men who were allied to robbers, or moss troopers, to be by them protected from pillage

2. Blackmailnoun

   payment of money exacted by means of intimidation; also, extortion of money from a person by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure

3. Blackmailnoun

   black rent, or rent paid in corn, flesh, or the lowest coin, a opposed to "white rent", which paid in silver

4. Blackmailverb

   to extort money from by exciting fears of injury other than bodily harm, as injury to reputation, distress of mind, etc.; as, to blackmail a merchant by threatening to expose an alleged fraud

WikidataRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. Blackmail

   Blackmail is an act, often a crime, involving unjustified threats to make a gain or cause loss to another unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats for the purposes of taking the person's money or property. It is the name of a statutory offence in the United States of America, England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and Victoria, Australia, and has been used as a convenient way of referring to other offences, but was not a term codified by Statute in English law before 1968. It originally meant payments rendered by settlers in the Counties of England bordering Scotland to chieftains and the like in the Scottish Lowlands, in exchange for protection from Scottish thieves and marauders into England. Blackmail may also be considered a form of extortion. Although the two are generally synonymous, extortion is the taking of personal property by threat of future harm. Blackmail is the use of threats to prevent another from engaging in a lawful occupation and writing libelous letters or letters that provoke a breach of the peace, as well as use of intimidation for purposes of collecting an unpaid debt. Some US states distinguish the offenses by requiring that blackmail be in writing. In some jurisdictions, the offence of blackmail is often carried out during the act of robbery. This occurs when an offender makes a threat of immediate violence towards someone in order to make a gain as part of a theft. For example, the threat of "Give me your money or I will shoot you" is an unlawful threat of violence in order to gain property.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Blackmail

   blak′māl, n. rent or tribute formerly paid to robbers for protection: hush-money extorted under threat of exposure or denunciation, esp. of a baseless charge.—v.t. to extort money from a person by this expedient. [Black and A.S. mal, tribute, toll.]

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. blackmail

   Song lyrics by blackmail -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by blackmail on the Lyrics.com website.

2. Blackmail

   Extortion vs. Blackmail -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Extortion and Blackmail.

Etymology and OriginsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Blackmail

   Originally a tax or tribute paid to robbers or freebooters as a compromise for protection. “Black” implied the Gaelic for security, while mal was Anglo-Saxon for tribute.

Matched Categories

1. • Crime
   • Extort

How to pronounce blackmail?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say blackmail in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of blackmail in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of blackmail in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of blackmail in a Sentence

1. Marc Zwillinger:

   Individually, the OPM breach and the Ashley Madison breach both present significant dangers to U.S. personnel, including intelligence personnel, but taken together, they really ratchet up the level of harm, the OPM breach has confidential information about U.S. personnel and people that have applied for security clearances, and the Ashley Madison breach reveals people's most intimate secrets about the affairs they might be having, and together, it provides a lot of leverage that could be used to blackmail and possibly influence U.S. personnel.

2. Safir Soeparna:

   Normally I just share everything gay about me, now I'm a bit like... will somebody use this to blackmail me ? So I rechecked my' friend' list and deleted people I can't trust 100 percent.

3. Kim Kye Gwan:

   We have already stated our intention for denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and made clear on several occasions that precondition for denuclearization is to put an end to anti-DPRK hostile policy and nuclear threats and blackmail of the United States.

4. Chairman Nadler:

   Robert Mueller's trying to blackmail House Judiciary Committee, the administration can not dictate the terms of our hearing in our hearing room.

5. Donald Trump:

   This is a political act when the President is under investigation, when his White House counsel was described yesterday as being told that his national security adviser was subject to blackmail by the Russians, and they fired the Attorney General a few days later, now they fired the FBI director.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=blackmail
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Blackmail
3. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackmail
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blackmail
6. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=blackmail
7. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=blackmail
8. ^ Etymology and Origins
   https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/54657/pg54657-images.html#:~:text=blackmail