postattack blackmail

noun

The situation in which one state uses nuclear weapons to attack another state's retaliatory forces, and then threatens to attack the cities next if the weakened victim state retaliates.

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Meanings

nounpostattack blackmail (uncountable)
  1. uncountablegovernmentThe situation in which one state uses nuclear weapons to attack another state's retaliatory forces, and then threatens to attack the cities next if the weakened victim state retaliates.

Origin

Coined by military strategist Herman Kahn.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

postattack blackmail. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/postattack%20blackmail

MLA

“postattack blackmail.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/postattack%20blackmail. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “postattack blackmail,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/postattack%20blackmail.

Source: postattack blackmail on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.