as in to dismiss
to reject by or as if by a vote
he was disappointed to learn that he had been blackballed by the fraternity
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
2
as in banishment
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Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of blackball
Ryan Brennan
april 1, Miami Herald, 1 Apr. 2026
Enter Sheila, a street magician blackballed by the local boys club who wows Lincoln with her tips-only act.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 20 Feb. 2026
Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 1 Feb. 2024
Maybe there’s an alternate universe where musicians are currently banding together against AI, opting to blackball anyone complicit in its rapid ascension from a viral sideshow into a thorn in the industry’s side.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 4 May 2023
See All Example Sentences for blackball
Verb
Divorced and unemployed, Coop gets blackballed from the finance sector entirely.
—Ryan Brennan
april 1, Miami Herald, 1 Apr. 2026
Enter Sheila, a street magician blackballed by the local boys club who wows Lincoln with her tips-only act.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 20 Feb. 2026
Noun
Campaign finance records reveal Trump’s cash crunch Donald Trump’s recent threat to blackball Republican donors who support his opponents was about more than just loyalty.
—Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 1 Feb. 2024
Maybe there’s an alternate universe where musicians are currently banding together against AI, opting to blackball anyone complicit in its rapid ascension from a viral sideshow into a thorn in the industry’s side.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 4 May 2023
See All Example Sentences for blackball
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blackball
Verb
-
The court recommended that the petition be dismissed, and that the organizations be given one month to submit the employee lists.—
Clayton Dalton,
New Yorker,
15 May 2026
-
Even the foundations of today’s artificial intelligence boom were laid by the NSF in the 1980s and 1990s, when neural networks were a backwater dismissed by mainstream computer science.—
Gautam Mukunda,
Twin Cities,
14 May 2026
Noun
-
The bill is now on the governor's desk, awaiting a signature or veto.—
Chierstin Roth,
CBS News,
18 May 2026
-
There are currently four vacant seats on the court, but they cannot be filled, because the government has retained a veto until the new law kicks in, after the elections.—
Bernard Avishai,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
Noun
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The appeals court ruled in September 2025 that Mid Vermont Christian must be allowed to participate in state athletics, after two years of banishment had passed.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Like there was a demon in his lungs, fighting the last bit of banishment.—
Courtney Crowder,
USA Today,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
In a final battle, the Darksaber is destroyed, Gideon and his clones are seemingly killed, and the newly united Mandalorians settle back on Mandalore.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
16 May 2026
-
Initial tests suggested the outbreak may not involve the Ebola Zaire strain, which was responsible for Congo’s devastating 2018-2020 epidemic that killed more than 1,000 people.—
Jasmine Baehr,
FOXNews.com,
16 May 2026
Noun
-
Some voters' concerns were inflation, gas prices, and the pros and cons of the war in Iran.—
Joe Holden,
CBS News,
19 May 2026
-
With no air-con and copious heat-soak through the rear bulkhead (the glass panel behind your head gets almost too hot to touch), driving it hard also feels like a physical workout.—
Tim Pitt,
Robb Report,
18 May 2026
Noun
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During the global debt crisis of the 1980s, the choice between debt servicing by means of an IMF program and ostracism from global markets was put on broad display.—
Sven van Mourik,
The Dial,
31 Mar. 2026
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In some cases, people who take these risks experience potentially negative social consequences such as disapproval, ostracism and career setbacks.—
Catherine A. Sanderson,
The Conversation,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
That’s still intense emotional and intellectual material for a mainstream TV series, but the Muschiettis, much like King, refuse to frame their work as an abstract allegory.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
19 May 2026
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DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng—a hedge fund billionaire who controls nearly the entire company—has spent years refusing outside money.—
Lily Mae Lazarus,
Fortune,
19 May 2026
Noun
-
Da Vinci won with the track at the Sanremo Music Festival earlier this year, giving him the right of first refusal to represent Italy at Eurovision.—
K.J. Yossman,
Variety,
16 May 2026
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That opacity serves a clear purpose, but Martelli is enamored by it to a fault, and Inés’ refusal to question the people around her or make any significant decisions beyond keeping her mouth shut eventually proves more trying than helpful.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Blackball.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blackball. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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