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To put a person, organization, or country on a list of those who are considered unacceptable and should be avoided or excluded from certain activities or privileges. It is often used to describe the denial of employment, trade, or participation based on previous behavior or reputation.

A person who demands money, favors, or specific actions from someone by threatening to reveal damaging secrets or private information about them. It refers to an individual who practices extortion through psychological or reputational leverage.

A blackout refers to a temporary loss of electrical power over an area or a sudden failure of memory or consciousness in an individual. It can also describe a period of censorship where information or news is intentionally suppressed by an authority.

A thorny deciduous shrub or small tree of the rose family, native to Europe and western Asia, which produces white flowers in early spring and small, bitter, dark blue fruits known as sloes. It is frequently used for creating dense, prickly hedges and is well-known for providing the wood used in traditional Irish walking sticks.

To swell, puff out, or expand like a balloon, often used in technical contexts to describe membranes filling with air or liquid. Informally, it can also refer to talking at length without much substance or meaning.

To consider or state that someone or something is responsible for a mistake, failure, or negative situation. It involves attributing the cause of a problem to a specific person, group, or factor.

Describes someone who has done nothing wrong and cannot be held responsible for a bad situation or mistake. It is often used to emphasize a person's innocence or their morally upright character.

Deserving of blame, criticism, or censure because of wrong or negligent behavior. It is often used to describe actions or individuals that are morally or legally responsible for a negative outcome.

Blandness refers to the quality of being uninteresting, dull, or lacking in strong features and characteristics. In a culinary context, it describes food that lacks flavor or seasoning, while in a general context, it describes things that are mediocre or devoid of personality.

Describes a surface that has no writing, images, or marks on it, or a state of mind where one cannot remember or think of anything. It is frequently used to describe paper, screens, or facial expressions that lack emotion or understanding.