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blackmailer

 - 3 dictionary results

black⋅mail

  [blak-meyl]
Use blackmailer in a Sentence
–noun
1. any payment extorted by intimidation, as by threats of injurious revelations or accusations.
2. the extortion of such payment: He confessed rather than suffer the dishonor of blackmail.
3. a tribute formerly exacted in the north of England and in Scotland by freebooting chiefs for protection from pillage.
–verb (used with object)
4. to extort money from (a person) by the use of threats.
5. to force or coerce into a particular action, statement, etc.: The strikers claimed they were blackmailed into signing the new contract.
Origin:
1545–55; black + mail 3

Related forms:
blackmailer, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To blackmailer
black·mail   (blāk'māl')   
n.  

    1. Extortion of money or something else of value from a person by the threat of exposing a criminal act or discreditable information.

    2. Something of value extorted in this manner.

  2. Tribute formerly paid to freebooters along the Scottish border for protection from pillage.


[black + mail3.]
black'mail' v., black'mail'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: black·mail
Pronunciation: 'blak-"mAl
Function: noun
Etymology: originally, payment extorted from farmers in Scotland and northern England, from black + dialectal mail payment, rent
: extortion or coercion by often written threats esp. of public exposure, physical harm, or criminal prosecution —blackmail transitive verb —black·mail·er /-"mA-l&r/ noun
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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