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blackball

[blak-bawl] / ˈblækˌbɔl /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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Ms McKinney said modelling opportunities began to decline for her and she believed Mr Combs used his influence to "blackball" her in the industry.

From BBC May 22, 2024

Daniels told “Raq Rants” in 2018 that he did not blackball Mo’Nique.

From Los Angeles Times Apr. 2, 2022

Regarding the charge from many of his accusers that he threatened to derail their careers if they spoke out: “I couldn’t blackball anybody, because if I said, ‘Don’t use that actress’ .

From Washington Post Mar. 11, 2020

NBA superstars like LeBron James and Steph Curry are impervious to this kind of treatment, in part because the NBA didn’t campaign to blackball them.

From The Guardian Dec. 5, 2019

Early in his career Owen used his influence at the Zoological Society to blackball a young man named Robert Grant whose only crime was to have shown promise as a fellow anatomist.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

While that blackballs the firms, it does not ban all business dealings, the report added.

From Reuters Mar. 25, 2022

I buy licorice whips, jelly beans, many-layered blackballs with the seed in the middle, packages of fizzy sherbet you suck up through a straw.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

Napoleon sees in this remark a germ of aggression on behalf of his House of Commons, more especially when emphasised by 125 blackballs against a Government Bill.

From Napoleon's Letters to Josephine by Henry Foljambe Hall

But once again, insensible to this detail, the jury seemed scarcely able to find blackballs enough to emphasize their refusal of the "Passage of the Beresina."

From International Short Stories: French by A. Cheneviere

Six blackballs shall exclude, and at least one-third of the members must vote in the affirmative to elect.

From American Big Game in Its Haunts by Various

That will make it possible to identify potential vetoes but not which country blackballed any given candidate.

From Barron's Jul. 30, 2026

Then again, maybe that’s a popcorn kernel for critics and other nerds, like another episode’s throwaway line from a former journalist who says she got blackballed for sucker-punching Rex Reed.

From Salon May 8, 2025

Second, unlike Kennan’s memo, Merry’s was at odds with U.S. policy and was ignored, then buried, and its author was blackballed, by the policymakers at the time.

From Slate Dec. 23, 2024

She also said he had subsequently "blackballed" her in the modelling world.

From BBC Sep. 24, 2024

If he’s not careful, he’ll be blackballed by his state medical association and kept out of the hospitals.”

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

And the reason for that compulsive work ethic was her unofficial blackballing by “Tonight Show” host Johnny Carson, for the crime of accepting Fox's offer to host her own talk show.

From Salon May 14, 2025

The staffers spoke on the condition of anonymity because of concerns about retaliation or blackballing in the small world of American museums.

From Washington Post Apr. 20, 2023

“This trend of big banks blackballing Alaska investment is dangerous to Alaska’s economic future,” Sullivan said in an interview Friday.

From Seattle Times Nov. 24, 2020

He won a multimillion-dollar settlement in 2019 after he accused the league of blackballing him because of his protests.

From New York Times Sep. 13, 2020

They wouldn't have dreamed of blackballing any one proposed by a popular man like you, and Mr Breitstein asked you personally to use your influence—you told me so.'

From Uneasy Money by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse




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