Blackmail Someone Into Doing vs. Blackmail Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents blackmail + object + into + -ing when a threat forces a person to perform an action. Blackmail also takes a direct object without an action complement, and the verb’s legal or everyday sense should be kept separate from the question of which complement is documented.
Use “blackmail someone into doing something” for the directly documented action complement; do not treat “blackmail someone to do” as the parallel pattern on this evidence.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| pressure a person by blackmail so that an action results | blackmail + person + into + -ing | use the directly documented action complement |
| proposed parallel infinitive complement | blackmail + person + to-infinitive | do not infer it as equivalent from this evidence |
Quick tests
Complement test
Are you naming the action that the person was forced into performing?
If yes: Use “blackmail someone into doing something.”
If no: If you are not expressing that action complement, use another documented blackmail construction appropriate to the sentence.
Caveat: This is a construction guide; it does not expand or redefine the legal scope of blackmail.
Examples
They blackmailed him into revealing the password.
“Into + -ing” expresses the forced action.
She was blackmailed into signing the document.
The passive form preserves the documented into + -ing complement.
They blackmailed him to reveal the password.
Better: They blackmailed him into revealing the password.
For this action-complement meaning, use “blackmailed him into revealing.”
Further guidance
Boundary
Blackmail also takes a direct object without an action complement, and the verb’s legal or everyday sense should be kept separate from the question of which complement is documented.
Construction
Oxford directly documents blackmail + object + into + -ing when a threat forces a person to perform an action.
Decision
Use “blackmail someone into doing something” for the directly documented action complement; do not treat “blackmail someone to do” as the parallel pattern on this evidence.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- blackmail — Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries · Blackmail + object + into + -ing construction