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Blackmail vs Coercion - What's the difference?

blackmail | coercion |

As nouns the difference between blackmail and coercion

is that blackmail is (archaic) a certain rate of money, corn, cattle, or other thing, anciently paid, in the north of england and south of scotland, to certain men who were allied to robbers, or moss troopers, to be by them protected from pillage while coercion is (not countable) actual]] or threatened force for the purpose of compelling action by another person; the act of [[coerce|coercing.

As a verb blackmail

is to extort money or favors from (a person) by exciting fears of injury other than bodily harm, such as injury to reputation, distress of mind, false accusation, etc; as, to blackmail a merchant by threatening to expose an alleged fraud.

blackmail

Noun

(-)
  • (archaic) A certain rate of money, corn, cattle, or other thing, anciently paid, in the north of England and south of Scotland, to certain men who were allied to robbers, or moss troopers, to be by them protected from pillage.
  • Payment of money exacted by means of intimidation; also, extortion of money from a person by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure.
  • to levy blackmail
  • :: to extort money by threats, as of injury to one's reputation
  • (English law) Black rent, or rent paid in corn, meat, or the lowest coin, as opposed to white rent, which paid in silver.
  • Derived terms

    * emotional blackmail

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To extort money or favors from (a person) by exciting fears of injury other than bodily harm, such as injury to reputation, distress of mind, false accusation, etc.; as, to blackmail a merchant by threatening to expose an alleged fraud.
  • See also

    * extortion * protection racket ----

    coercion

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (not countable) Actual]] or threatened force for the purpose of compelling action by another person; the act of [[coerce, coercing.
  • (legal, not countable) Use of physical or moral force to compel a person to do something, or to abstain from doing something, thereby depriving that person of the exercise of free will.
  • (countable) A specific instance of coercing.
  • (computing, countable) Conversion of a value of one data type to a value of another data type.
  • References

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