blackmailer
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blackmailer
A person who forces another person to pay money or do something specific by threatening violence or the disclosure of compromising information.
Die Polizei konnte den Erpresser auf frischer Tat ertappen, als er das Geld abholen wollte.
The police were able to catch the blackmailer in the act as he was about to pick up the money.
The word is made up of the verb 'pressen' (to press) and the prefix 'er-', which here forces a result. The ending '-er' refers to the male person performing the action. So an 'Erpresser' (blackmailer) is someone who 'presses' something out of someone.
Der Erpresser drohte damit, die Geheimnisse zu veröffentlichen.
The blackmailer threatened to publish the secrets.
'Der Erpresser' (the blackmailer) belongs to a word family: the verb is 'erpressen' (to blackmail/extort), and the act itself is called 'die Erpressung' (blackmail/extortion). All three words have the same stem and the same basic meaning.
Er wurde Opfer eines Erpressers und ging zur Polizei.
He became the victim of a blackmailer and went to the police.
In connection with 'Erpresser' (blackmailer), certain verbs are often used, for example 'einen Erpresser fassen' (to catch a blackmailer), 'einem Erpresser nachgeben' (to give in to a blackmailer), or 'sich von einem Erpresser nicht einschüchtern lassen' (not to let oneself be intimidated by a blackmailer).
Das Opfer weigerte sich, dem Erpresser das geforderte Geld zu geben.
The victim refused to give the blackmailer the demanded money.
