RACKETEER Synonyms: 77 Similar and Opposite Words

racketeer 1 of 2

noun

ˌra-kə-ˈtir

Definition of racketeer

as in gangster

a person who gets money from another by using force or threats the racketeer threatened to have his thugs vandalize the shop if the shopkeeper didn't pay him a monthly bribe

Synonyms & Similar Words

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racketeer

2 of 2

verb

as in to blackmail

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Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

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 racketeer

Noun

When Ferrara was starting out, private investment in low-budget films was spurred by tax loopholes, a way for doctors, dentists, and racketeers to get rid of extra cash that would otherwise wind up in Uncle Sam’s grubby mitts. — Nick Pinkerton, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025 In a police photograph, Lansky stood next to racketeer Charles (Lucky) Luciano. — Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2025

Verb

Each man pleaded guilty to racketeering enterprise conspiracy, or RICO, charges that were brought last September as the third indictment in a sweeping MS-13 case first opened in 2017. — Flint McColgan, Boston Herald, 15 July 2025 The case for racketeering conspiracy Prosecutors’ toughest challenge will likely be securing a conviction on the racketeering conspiracy charge, experts agreed, citing its complexity and the novelty of its application in the Combs case. — Dakin Andone, CNN Money, 25 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for racketeer

Recent Examples of Synonyms for racketeer

Noun

The Capone associates lined up six members of Moran's gang, and a seventh unaffiliated man who apparently liked hanging out with gangsters, against the north wall of the garage.

— Adam Harrington, CBS News, 27 Oct. 2026
Matt’s blood cells gain the ability to transform and instantly reshape his body into someone else, such as Corr or the gangster who disfigured him or even his own father (played in a quick cameo by Aaron Paul).

— Jordan Moreau, Variety, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of gangster

Verb

The researchers gave the model a goal, gave it the information required to blackmail a specific person, and removed every other path forward.

— Stephen Messer, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
Tensions ratchet even higher when Gerry learns the truth and, now fully unhinged, blackmails Russ into throwing the game against Texas for a $200,000 bet.

— Angelique Jackson, Variety, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of blackmail

Noun

The other was Albrecht Hohler, thirty, a Communist member of the paramilitary group the Red Front Fighters and well known locally as a particularly vicious thug—a petty criminal who had been released from jail only a few months earlier.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2026
These low-level thugs typically are not believed to be formally aligned with Iran.

— Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of thug

Verb

Among the new rackets were providing cheap workers to new industries, ruling the docks of large port cities, extorting money from trading companies, and working for political parties to intimidate rival voters.

— Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
Hill alleged school board members tried to extort her into resigning in a memo sent to the board ahead of her firing.

— Julia Coin, Charlotte Observer, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of extort

Noun

Apple’s decision to briefly remove Telegram from the App Store has been blamed on a blackmailer duping the company into executing a takedown, according to Telegram’s CEO.

— Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026
The blackmailer continues to call her, demanding money in exchange for keeping her cam-boy secrets.

— Erin Qualey, Vulture, 29 May 2026

Definition of blackmailer

Verb

The Southern Pacific muscled out the competition not just on land but on the seas and rivers.

— Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2026
Panthers receiver Cataurus Hicks comes down with it and muscles his way forward in an attempt to get into the end zone.

— Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of muscle

Noun

Carrot Top's lawyer has filed an emergency motion to prevent his alleged extortionist and former friend, Brian Evans, from filing more documents.

— Liza Esquibias, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2026
There still will be scammers, extortionists, extremists and others who try to take advantage of teens and adults.

— Larry Magid, Mercury News, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of extortionist

Verb

Locked under floors of concrete and alone in his cell with just a toilet and steel bed, Jurek coerces the man in the cell next to him to bash his head in.

— Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 30 Oct. 2026
But if one spouse was coerced into participating or the arbitrator exceeded the authority the couple had agreed to give them, a court could set the decision aside.

— Asma Uddin, The Conversation, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of coerce

Browse Nearby Words

racketed

racketeer

racketeered

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Style

“Racketeer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/racketeer. Accessed 4 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of racketeer

noun

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

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