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  1. blackball love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. A negative vote, especially one that blocks the admission of an applicant to an organization.
  2. n. A small black ball used as a negative ballot.
  3. v. To vote against, especially to veto the admission of.
  4. v. To shut out from social or commercial participation; ostracize or boycott.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. A blacking composition used by shoemakers, etc. Also called heel-ball.
  2. n. A name applied to both the smut and the bunt of wheat.
  3. n. An adverse vote. See blackball, v. t.
  4. To reject (as a candidate for election to membership or office in any club, society, etc.) by placing black balls in the ballot-box; exclude or defeat by adverse vote; also, simply to vote against. See ballot, n., 3.
  5. n. Same as black ash.

Wiktionary

  1. n. a rejection, a vote against admitting someone
  2. n. a black ball used to indicate such a negative vote
  3. n. the act of so rejecting someone
  4. n. A kind of large black sweet; niggerball
  5. v. transitive to vote against, especially in an exclusive organization
  6. v. transitive to ostracize

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. A composition for blacking shoes, boots, etc.; also, one for taking impressions of engraved work.
  2. n. A ball of black color, esp. one used as a negative in voting; -- in this sense usually two words.
  3. v. To vote against, by putting a black ball into a ballot box; to reject or exclude, as by voting against with black balls; to ostracize.
  4. v. To blacken (leather, shoes, etc.) with blacking.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. the act of excluding someone by a negative vote or veto
  2. v. expel from a community or group
  3. v. vote against; refuse to endorse; refuse to assent

Examples

  • “The lucrative 1946 tour was especially welcomed by the chronically underpaid "blackball" players.”

    The Wall Street Journal: Barnstorming in Black and White

  • “Additionally, the defendants acted to 'blackball' and banish plaintiff and anyone associated with plaintiff permanently from ExxonMobil facilities and premises without limitation.”

    Courthouse News Service

  • “But in fact, what he really should be concerned about is not "blackball," but rather "blackmail.”

    Latest Articles

  • “President Obama has been making great pains to try to change our image before the world, one that he believes George W. Bush perpetuated and that has led to our virtual "blackball" by many nations.”

    Latest Articles

  • “The attorneys claim that Villalobos and others conspired to "blackball" and "black-list" them and that he instructed assistant DAs and staff that neither probation nor plea bargains are to be made available to the clients of these defense attorneys.”

    Brownsville Herald :

  • “Las Vegas resorts Wynn and Encore has decided to 'blackball' Hilton, which, in short, means to ban her from their venue.”

    Celebrity Gossip - Celebrity News - Celebrity Photo - Spreadit.org

  • “Didn't this really amount to something like a "blackball" by DeMint, who kept Southers 'nomination from being voted up or down by the Senate, with the announced reason for his opposition to Southers being conerns about the prospects of unionization at TSA and the impact it might have on security, not the "privacy" issue?”

    The Volokh Conspiracy

  • “His fear is that now the Stelmach dictatorship will "blackball" his riding.”

    Edmonton Sun

  • “News: Chris Brown tweeted that retailers were trying to "blackball" Graffiti, but his new album managed to just barely pass the 100K mark, selling 102,000”

    WN.com - Articles related to Hip Hop music mania

  • “Did the Bears "blackball" Cedric Benson before signing with the Bengals?”

    Cincy Jungle

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synonyms (3)

Words with the same meaning

  1. ostracize
  1. pill
  1. pipe

hypernyms (7)

Words that are more generic or abstract

  1. exclusion
  1. expulsion
  1. ejection
  1. riddance
  1. expel
  1. kick out
  1. throw out

rhymes (1)

Words with the same terminal sound

  1. trackball

reverse dictionary (8)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. ostracize
  1. blacklist
  1. boycott
  1. blackball
  1. heelball
  1. pill
  1. pip
  1. ball

tags (1)

Free-form, user-generated categorization

  1. black

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‘blackball’ has been looked up 2111 times, loved by 3 people, added to 17 lists, and has a Scrabble score of 19.