blackmail

1. N-UNCOUNT Blackmail is the action of threatening to reveal a secret about someone, unless they do something you tell them to do, such as giving you money. 敲詐

It looks like the pictures were being used for blackmail. 看來這些照片正被用于敲詐勒索。

2. N-UNCOUNT If you describe an action as emotional or moral blackmail, you disapprove of it because someone is using a person's emotions or moral values to persuade them to do something against their will. 要挾[表不滿]

The tactics employed can range from overt bullying to subtle emotional blackmail. 使用的手段從公開恐嚇到情感要挾花樣百出。

3. V-T If one person blackmails another person, they use blackmail against them. 敲詐

He told her their affair would have to stop, because Jack Smith was blackmailing him. 他告訴她他們倆的風流韻事不得不到此為止，因為杰克·史密斯正在借此敲詐他。

The government insisted that it would not be blackmailed by violence. 政府堅稱不會受暴力要挾。

4. blackmailerN-COUNT 敲詐者

The nasty thing about a blackmailer is that his starting point is usually the truth. 討厭的事情在于，敲詐者開始借以要挾的把柄往往是事實。