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
In the following months, they were seized at bus and train stations, beaten at a hospital and abducted by ambulance.
—
Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 9 Sep. 2025
The attack killed nearly 1,200 Israelis and abducted 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
—Amira El-Fekki, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025
The Israeli government says 47 hostages abducted by Hamas and its allies on October 7, 2023 are still in Gaza, including 27 who are believed to be dead.
—Ibrahim Dahman, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2025
This thrilling prequel stars Anya Taylor-Joy as Furiosa and Alyla Browne as young Furiosa, who is abducted by the savage warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) — leader of the Biker Horde — and spends the next decade in captivity plotting her revenge and escape.
—Charlotte Walsh, People.com, 1 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for abduct
Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 9 Sep. 2025
The attack killed nearly 1,200 Israelis and abducted 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
—Amira El-Fekki, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025
The Israeli government says 47 hostages abducted by Hamas and its allies on October 7, 2023 are still in Gaza, including 27 who are believed to be dead.
—Ibrahim Dahman, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2025
This thrilling prequel stars Anya Taylor-Joy as Furiosa and Alyla Browne as young Furiosa, who is abducted by the savage warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) — leader of the Biker Horde — and spends the next decade in captivity plotting her revenge and escape.
—Charlotte Walsh, People.com, 1 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for abduct
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abduct
kidnap
Verb
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October 2020 Fourteen people were arrested by the FBI and state police and charged in connection with a plot to kidnap Michigan’s Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, and take over the state government.—
Chris Boyette,
CNN Money,
14 Sep. 2025
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In September 2022, schoolteacher Eliza Fletcher was kidnapped during an early morning run, and her body was later found near a vacant duplex.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
13 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Abduct.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abduct. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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