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Synonyms

blacklist

American  
[blak-list] / ˈblækˌlɪst /

noun

  1. a list of persons under suspicion, disfavor, censure, etc..

    His record as an anarchist put him on the government's blacklist.

  2. a list privately exchanged among employers, containing the names of persons to be barred from employment because of untrustworthiness or for holding opinions considered undesirable.

  3. a list drawn up by a labor union, containing the names of employers to be boycotted for unfair labor practices.

verb (used with object)

  1. to put (a person, group, company, etc.) on a blacklist.

    Synonyms:
    ostracize, shun, ban, proscribe, debar, bar, blackball
blacklist British  
/ ˈblækˌlɪst /

noun

  1. a list of persons or organizations under suspicion, or considered untrustworthy, disloyal, etc, esp one compiled by a government or an organization

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (tr) to put on a blacklist

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
blacklist Cultural  

  1. Concerted action by employers to deny employment to someone suspected of unacceptable opinions or behavior. For example, individual workers suspected of favoring labor unions have often been blacklisted by all the employers in a region.

Discover More

During the McCarthy era (see Joseph P. McCarthy) in the 1950s, the careers of many public figures suspected of communist activities were ruined by blacklisting.

Other Word Forms

  • blacklisting noun

Etymology

Origin of blacklist

First recorded in 1610–20; black + list 1

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.

On Saturday, he added that the Department of Defense turned out “to be flexible on what we needed” but that the effective blacklisting of Anthropic sets an “extremely scary precedent.”

From MarketWatch

On Saturday, he added that the Department of Defense turned out “to be flexible on what we needed” but that the effective blacklisting of Anthropic sets an “extremely scary precedent.”

From MarketWatch

Claire Darwin KC, for the claimants, said that the Met's decision allowed it to create a "blacklist".

From BBC

When Jay Manuel tried to leave “ANTM,” he said, “there was a warning that strikes the fear of God in you. You know, people talk about being blacklisted.”

From Los Angeles Times

Rodriguez and many of her aides are blacklisted by the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.