blackmail

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

This exemplary service failed to account for her disturbingly poor judgment, risking blackmail and conflict-of-interest allegations, since the Atlanta Police Department appears before her court; nor her lack of candor to the court.

From Slate • Jun. 8, 2026

Robertson said there was no dispute Patel's actions had seriously departed from professional standards but submitted the relationship was instigated by Patient A and "largely driven by her through the ongoing threats and blackmail".

From BBC • May 21, 2026

"Iran should not use this strait as a weapon to pressure or to blackmail the Gulf countries," Qatari foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told reporters in Doha on Tuesday.

From Barron's • May 12, 2026

They claim that the laws are widely abused as a blackmail tool in divorces, enrich lawyers and let spouses who misbehave off the hook, treating them as passive objects with no agency.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026

When he targeted Gainsborough’s Duchess of Devonshire, he had a specific goal: to blackmail its owner into paying the bond for his imprisoned brother.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day