Words / B1

BLAKM-ayl/ˈblækmeɪl/

Blackmail is demanding money or action by threatening to reveal a secret (noun and verb). Extortion is a wider legal twin. Do not use blackmail for an ordinary tough negotiation in exam writing. Police: emails treated as blackmail, not a joke.

Meaning

The crime of demanding money or action by threatening to reveal a secret.

Examples

• “Police treated the emails as blackmail, not a joke.”
• “To blackmail someone is the verb; the charge sheet uses blackmail as a noun.”

Good to know

blackmail (noun, often uncountable). Verb: blackmail someone. Wider legal: extortion. Crime news. Not a synonym of bargain.

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