She was a victim of blackmail. The servant extorted blackmail from her employer.

Recent Examples on the Web

Dear Readers: According to AARP’s Fraud Watch Network, there are disturbing blackmail scams making the rounds. Washington Post, "Hints From Heloise: Don’t get scammed," 31 Aug. 2020

Granda denied the blackmail allegation to the Examiner. Rachel Desantis, PEOPLE.com, "Jerry Falwell Jr. Resigns from Liberty University amid Sex Scandal Involving Wife and Pool Boy," 25 Aug. 2020

An unprofessional reaction is unfortunate, but surely not worth succumbing to emotional blackmail to prevent. Judith Martin, Washington Post, "Miss Manners: Saying no to a shirking colleague," 13 Aug. 2020

Once elected, his list of crimes grew to include arson, assault, blackmail, and stealing from his office. al, "Madam who saved Birmingham from cholera may have aided Alabama outlaw sheriff’s 1885 escape," 11 Aug. 2020

The Chinese government can demand that tech companies hand over data, and that could turn TikTok into a Trojan horse for cyberespionage or blackmail. Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, "For Whom the Tok Tiks," 6 Aug. 2020

The site has clear community guidelines that ban spam, terrorist organizations or support for them, unsolicited advertisements, fighting words used to incite violence, blackmail, and pornography. Alexandra Lonas, Washington Examiner, "Twitter alternative Parler faces growth obstacle: Too few liberals," 2 July 2020

In a report commissioned by a research firm working for Hillary Clinton's campaign, former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele alleged Russia had blackmail material on Trump. William Cummings, USA TODAY, "'I don't know what the Russians have on the president': Pelosi decries Trump over reported of bounty on US troops," 28 June 2020

The stench of blackmail hangs over the whole enterprise. Jacob Silverman, The New Republic, "Letting Jeffrey Epstein’s Pals Off the Hook," 17 June 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'blackmail.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.