Meaning & use
blackballing
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“blackballing” is a form of “blackball”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive
Voting against someone to keep them out of a club or group, or deliberately shutting a person out of a job or a circle.
Grammar: Takes an object: they are blackballing the new applicant.
Patterns
- blackballing someone from something
- blackballing someone for something
The committee was accused of blackballing anyone who had criticized the chairman.
He suspected a rival was blackballing him from the best golf clubs in town.
Blackballing candidates in secret ballots used to be common in private societies.
noununcountableformal
The practice of secretly voting against or excluding people so they cannot join something.
Grammar: Used without an or the in general statements: blackballing is unfair.
Patterns
- the blackballing of someone
The blackballing of newcomers kept the club small and exclusive.
Several members protested against the blackballing that went on every spring.
Blackballing damaged her career in the small industry.
Word forms
| base form | blackball |
|---|---|
| third person singular | blackballs |
| past tense | blackballed |
| past participle | blackballed |
Common combinations
- accused of blackballing
- The board was accused of blackballing younger applicants.
- secret blackballing
- Secret blackballing meant nobody ever learned who had objected.
- blackballing from a club
- His blackballing from the yacht club surprised everyone.
- fear of blackballing
- Fear of blackballing kept many people quiet in meetings.
Synonyms and how they differ
- excluding
- Excluding is a general word, while blackballing suggests a hidden vote or quiet pressure.
- ostracizing
- Ostracizing means turning a whole group against someone, not necessarily through a vote.
- blacklisting
- Blacklisting usually means putting a name on an official list to be avoided, often by employers.
- rejecting
- Rejecting is neutral and may be done openly, whereas blackballing sounds secretive and unfair.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: blackballing or blacklisting?
blackballing vs blacklisting
Blacklisting puts someone on a list of people to avoid, while blackballing is mainly about stopping someone joining a group.
Practice
The old club was known for blackballing people it did not like. What does this mean?
Choose one answer.
Blackballing means excluding someone, traditionally by a secret negative vote. The other options take the words literally and miss the meaning of exclusion.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “blackballing”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.