blackmail
blackmail — 名詞
1. an illegal act where a person is pressured into paying money or doing favours, w
勒索；要脅
以揭發秘密或傷害威脅他人的犯罪行為
an illegal act where a person is pressured into paying money or doing favours, with the threat that a damaging secret will be exposed or that they will be hurt if they refuse.
The actor went to the police after receiving letters demanding money and warning of blackmail.
那位演員收到要錢並警告將進行勒索的信件後，便去報警。
noun phrase: a charge / threat of blackmail
Detective Park believes the photos were used as blackmail to silence the witness.
Park 警探認為那些照片被當作勒索的工具，用來讓證人閉嘴。
used as blackmail (instrument of pressure)
Amara was charged with blackmail after threatening to leak her boss's emails.
Amara 因威脅要外洩老闆的電子郵件而被以勒索罪起訴。
Two former staff members were arrested for blackmail after demanding cash from the senator.
兩名前員工因向那位參議員勒索現金而遭到逮捕。
When Bram refused to pay blackmail, the man demanded twice the amount the following week.
當 Bram 拒絕支付勒索金後，那名男子隔週便要求加倍的金額。
文法句型
uncountable noun
用法筆記
Almost always uncountable. Often appears in legal collocations such as 'commit blackmail', 'charged with blackmail', 'a victim of blackmail', and 'pay blackmail'. Compare with 'extortion', which covers a wider range of threats including violence and damage to property.
常見錯誤
blackmail — 動詞
1. to force someone to give you money or do what you want by threatening to reveal
勒索；脅迫
以揭秘或傷害威脅迫使他人交錢或順從
to force someone to give you money or do what you want by threatening to reveal a damaging secret about them or to harm them in some way.
The hacker tried to blackmail the CEO with stolen private messages.
那名駭客試圖用偷來的私訊勒索那位執行長。
blackmail + somebody + with + something
Nikolai was blackmailed into withdrawing her complaint against the manager.
Nikolai 被人以勒索手段威脅，被迫撤回了對主管的投訴。
passive: be blackmailed into + -ing
Farouk refused to be blackmailed and reported the threats to the local police.
Farouk 拒絕被勒索，並向當地警方舉報了那些威脅。
The minister claims that protesters are trying to blackmail the government into changing the law.
那位部長宣稱，抗議者正試圖以威脅手段逼迫政府修法。
The gang blackmailed the shopkeeper into paying them every month for protection.
那群幫派分子勒索那名店主，要他每個月付錢買平安。
- extort
covers any threat (including violence); often used with 'money from'
- coerce
force by any pressure; not limited to threats about secrets
- intimidate
frighten into compliance; no demand for money implied
文法句型
blackmail + somebody
blackmail + somebody + into + doing something
用法筆記
Frequently passive ('be blackmailed into doing something'). The 'into + -ing' pattern is the most common way to state what the victim is forced to do. Subject is usually a person; object must be a person, never an institution as the direct grammatical object.