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. 敲诈

It looks like the pictures were being used for blackmail. 看来这些照片正被用于敲诈勒索。

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. 要挟[表不满]

The tactics employed can range from overt bullying to subtle emotional blackmail. 使用的手段从公开恐吓到情感要挟花样百出。

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

He told her their affair would have to stop, because Jack Smith was blackmailing him. 他告诉她他们俩的风流韵事不得不到此为止，因为杰克·史密斯正在借此敲诈他。

The government insisted that it would not be blackmailed by violence. 政府坚称不会受暴力要挟。

4. blackmailerN-COUNT 敲诈者

The nasty thing about a blackmailer is that his starting point is usually the truth. 讨厌的事情在于，敲诈者开始借以要挟的把柄往往是事实。