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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Recent Examples of abduct
Last week, the police in Nigeria said that 38 people were killed and others were abducted in an attack in the northwestern state of Zamfara.
—
ABC News, 1 Mar. 2026
Morgan Jade Violi was abducted from a Bowling Green apartment complex on July 24, 1996.
—Monroe Trombly, Louisville Courier Journal, 28 Feb. 2026
Clare, who has credit for 1,806 days behind bars since his arrested, admitted abducting the 3-year-old boy and the 16-year-old girl, who were the subject of an Amber Alert out of Tennessee before they were found.
—City News Service, Oc Register, 28 Feb. 2026
The publicity surrounding Smart’s case allowed a passerby to recognize her captors, which led to the teen’s rescue nine months after she’d been abducted.
—Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for abduct
ABC News, 1 Mar. 2026
Morgan Jade Violi was abducted from a Bowling Green apartment complex on July 24, 1996.
—Monroe Trombly, Louisville Courier Journal, 28 Feb. 2026
Clare, who has credit for 1,806 days behind bars since his arrested, admitted abducting the 3-year-old boy and the 16-year-old girl, who were the subject of an Amber Alert out of Tennessee before they were found.
—City News Service, Oc Register, 28 Feb. 2026
The publicity surrounding Smart’s case allowed a passerby to recognize her captors, which led to the teen’s rescue nine months after she’d been abducted.
—Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for abduct
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abduct
kidnap
Verb
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The following day, a ransom note was sent to police demanding 10,000 Australian dollars for Cheryl’s safe return – or another child would be kidnapped.—
Hilary Whiteman,
CNN Money,
28 Feb. 2026
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Charlie Shunick's sister, Mickey Shunick, was kidnapped in 2012 in Lafayette, Louisiana.—
Bill Chappell,
NPR,
27 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Abduct.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abduct. Accessed 6 Mar. 2026.
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