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.

Since the new law’s enactment, the Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum, a Ugandan advocacy group, has documented more than 1,200 cases of blackmail and harassment.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 22, 2026

The man, who cannot be named, was arrested, but within hours Rose was charged with blackmail and later a further charge of perverting the course of public justice.

From BBC • Feb. 24, 2026

J. Edgar Hoover, who led the FBI for 48 years, had established a personal fiefdom devoted to consolidating power and pursuing his own personal obsessions, sometimes with blackmail and coercion.

From Salon • Feb. 15, 2026

In an earlier simulation, Anthropic showed that Claude and other AI models were at times willing to blackmail users—or even let an executive die in a hot server room—in order to avoid deactivation.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2026

“An’ how many did yeh have ter threaten an’ blackmail before . they agreed, Malfoy, eh?” he roared.

From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling