as in kidnapped
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as in captured
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 abducted
Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 17 May 2026
The statement did not say how old the abducted schoolchildren are but the term ‘pupil’ in Nigeria usually refers to someone in kindergarten or primary school, typically covering ages up to 12.
—ABC News, 27 Apr. 2026
The dual timelines will continue, and the present-day Scarpetta will have a heavy new case, focusing on abducted teenage girls.
—Barry Levitt, Time, 12 Mar. 2026
Savannah Guthrie is making a last-minute plea for help in finding her abducted mother, Nancy Guthrie.
—Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 9 Feb. 2026
According to a criminal complaint, in December, the mother of the abducted girl had an unusual encounter with Bragg on Facebook.
—Wcco Staff, CBS News, 3 Feb. 2026
The 38 abducted worshipers were freed almost a week later.
—Rachel Wolf , Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 26 Dec. 2025
Based on the Arsène Lupin character Maurice Leblanc created in the early 1900s, the series initially followed Assane’s revenge mission against the Pellegrini family who wronged his father, before morphing into a search for his abducted son and then on to his mission to steal the Black Pearl.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 25 Dec. 2025
The remaining 130 schoolchildren kidnapped by gunmen from a Catholic school in Nigeria’s north-central Niger State in November have been released, a presidential spokesman said on Sunday, confirming that all abducted pupils are now free.
—Mohammed Tawfeeq, CNN Money, 21 Dec. 2025
CBS News, 12 June 2026
The episode ends with the sight of an unconscious Lance in the trunk of a car, abducted by some unseen assailant.
—Rachel Labonte, Entertainment Weekly, 11 June 2026
To be fair, abducted 9-year-old Rainy is pretty cute, with solemn eyebrows and a conscience that continually puts her in peril.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2026
Little John, who Robin must have conscripted as a child soldier back in the day (a team-up that Robin eventually paints in a very different light), asks his old pal to kill the people who abducted his wife.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 11 June 2026
It's been over three decades since Jaycee Lee Dugard was abducted while walking to school.
—Lynsey Eidell, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026
During similar unrest last year, several officers were abducted and tortured after being taken captive.
—ABC News, 8 June 2026
In a pair of statements published in 2020, Duffy shared that she had been abducted, raped, and held captive for six weeks, an ordeal that led her to retreat from the spotlight.
—Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 7 June 2026
At a time when the United States had just abducted a Venezuelan dictator, was threatening Greenland, and was planning a war in Iran, a serious DNI would have had other priorities.
—Andreas Kluth, Twin Cities, 28 May 2026
Adjective
There were toddlers among the abducted children, according to the outlet.
—Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 17 May 2026
The statement did not say how old the abducted schoolchildren are but the term ‘pupil’ in Nigeria usually refers to someone in kindergarten or primary school, typically covering ages up to 12.
—ABC News, 27 Apr. 2026
The dual timelines will continue, and the present-day Scarpetta will have a heavy new case, focusing on abducted teenage girls.
—Barry Levitt, Time, 12 Mar. 2026
Savannah Guthrie is making a last-minute plea for help in finding her abducted mother, Nancy Guthrie.
—Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 9 Feb. 2026
According to a criminal complaint, in December, the mother of the abducted girl had an unusual encounter with Bragg on Facebook.
—Wcco Staff, CBS News, 3 Feb. 2026
The 38 abducted worshipers were freed almost a week later.
—Rachel Wolf , Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 26 Dec. 2025
Based on the Arsène Lupin character Maurice Leblanc created in the early 1900s, the series initially followed Assane’s revenge mission against the Pellegrini family who wronged his father, before morphing into a search for his abducted son and then on to his mission to steal the Black Pearl.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 25 Dec. 2025
The remaining 130 schoolchildren kidnapped by gunmen from a Catholic school in Nigeria’s north-central Niger State in November have been released, a presidential spokesman said on Sunday, confirming that all abducted pupils are now free.
—Mohammed Tawfeeq, CNN Money, 21 Dec. 2025
Verb
Meanwhile, a search continues for another journalist who was abducted from her home in the same region last week.
—CBS News, 12 June 2026
The episode ends with the sight of an unconscious Lance in the trunk of a car, abducted by some unseen assailant.
—Rachel Labonte, Entertainment Weekly, 11 June 2026
To be fair, abducted 9-year-old Rainy is pretty cute, with solemn eyebrows and a conscience that continually puts her in peril.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2026
Little John, who Robin must have conscripted as a child soldier back in the day (a team-up that Robin eventually paints in a very different light), asks his old pal to kill the people who abducted his wife.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 11 June 2026
It's been over three decades since Jaycee Lee Dugard was abducted while walking to school.
—Lynsey Eidell, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026
During similar unrest last year, several officers were abducted and tortured after being taken captive.
—ABC News, 8 June 2026
In a pair of statements published in 2020, Duffy shared that she had been abducted, raped, and held captive for six weeks, an ordeal that led her to retreat from the spotlight.
—Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 7 June 2026
At a time when the United States had just abducted a Venezuelan dictator, was threatening Greenland, and was planning a war in Iran, a serious DNI would have had other priorities.
—Andreas Kluth, Twin Cities, 28 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abducted
kidnapped
Verb
-
Yazid Abubakar, a police spokesman in northwest Nigeria, said in a statement efforts were underway to rescue six students who were kidnapped at gunpoint from an off-campus residence in the Kaura Namoda area of Zamfara state.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
7 June 2026
-
Guzman, Garcia, and others kidnapped and strangled him, and drove him to the Angeles National Forest, where he was killed with machetes.—
Sydney Barragan,
Daily News,
6 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Abducted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abducted. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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