ABDUCT Synonyms: 25 Similar and Opposite Words

abduct

verb

ab-ˈdəkt

Definition of abduct

as in to kidnap

to carry away (as a person) forcibly or unlawfully the gangsters planned to abduct the industrialist's young daughter and demand a huge ransom from her family

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of abduct The girls, Zola Cooper, 4, and Norah Cooper, 11 months, were allegedly abducted by Lakesha Brown. — Kelsie Cairns, FOXNews.com, 17 Aug. 2026 When his friend Tetsuo (Nozomu Sasaki) is abducted by military elites bent on turning him into a supernatural killer, Kaneda tries to rescue him. — David Faris, TheWeek, 14 Aug. 2026 Clinton retaliates by abducting Terrance and Phillip and threatening to execute them, signaling his intent to invade Canada. — Damon Wise, Deadline, 13 Aug. 2026 The men were students at an aviation school in Culiacán, and many here suspected that they had been abducted to work on cartel aircraft. — Kevin Sieff, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for abduct

Recent Examples of Synonyms for abduct

kidnap

Verb

The governor was embroiled in a scandal in 2023 involving the Sinaloa cartel, in which his name was published in a letter written by a then-Sinaloa cartel capo whom leaders of a rival faction of the cartel had kidnapped.

— CBS News, CBS News, 23 Aug. 2026
Back in 1985 in the Soviet Union, Merryl Goldberg was interrogated by the KGB three times, briefly kidnapped by the state security agency twice and put under house arrest once.

— Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of kidnap

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abdomens

abduct

abducted

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“Abduct.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abduct. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of abduct

verb

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