emotional blackmail
noun
: an attempt to control someone with whom one has an emotional connection by tactics that make the person feel guilty or upset
He used emotional blackmail to get what he wanted from her.
Examples of emotional blackmail in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Or could this be a way to subvert some kind of emotional blackmail?
—
Brian Moylan, Vulture, 3 Oct. 2025
Campaign members saw this as a form of emotional blackmail.
—Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2025
Even emotional blackmail doesn’t work.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 5 Sep. 2025
My goodness, talk about emotional blackmail!
—Arkansas Online, 31 Aug. 2025
Your thoughts? — IT’S MY BUSINESS DEAR ‘BUSINESS’: My goodness, talk about emotional blackmail!
—Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 31 Aug. 2025
But nothing prepared them for the emotional blackmail of brilliance.
—Alla Adam, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025
And so began the tense conversation that rattles so many American households after the initial celebration of college acceptance letters: Who decides which college the student will attend?
Get ready for frustration and emotional blackmail.
—Kayla Jimenez, USA Today, 30 June 2025
Emma Stone, one of the film’s producers, talked him out of it with some savvy emotional blackmail.
—Adam B. Vary, Variety, 2 Mar. 2025
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Brian Moylan, Vulture, 3 Oct. 2025
Campaign members saw this as a form of emotional blackmail.
—Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2025
Even emotional blackmail doesn’t work.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 5 Sep. 2025
My goodness, talk about emotional blackmail!
—Arkansas Online, 31 Aug. 2025
Your thoughts? — IT’S MY BUSINESS DEAR ‘BUSINESS’: My goodness, talk about emotional blackmail!
—Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 31 Aug. 2025
But nothing prepared them for the emotional blackmail of brilliance.
—Alla Adam, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025
And so began the tense conversation that rattles so many American households after the initial celebration of college acceptance letters: Who decides which college the student will attend?
Get ready for frustration and emotional blackmail.
—Kayla Jimenez, USA Today, 30 June 2025
Emma Stone, one of the film’s producers, talked him out of it with some savvy emotional blackmail.
—Adam B. Vary, Variety, 2 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Emotional blackmail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emotional%20blackmail. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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