abducted 1 of 2

abducted

2 of 2

verb

past tense of abduct
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 abducted
Adjective
The gang later released six children and seven women following an intervention by community leaders and UNICEF, but dozens remain abducted. ABC News, 30 Aug. 2026 The human-rights organization said the dozens of abducted residents were being held by several gang leaders in at least two different locations. Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 28 Aug. 2026 Agent Mulder, hot on the trail of a group of murderers who are harvesting their victims' organs, breaks into a makeshift laboratory in an attempt to save an abducted woman. Brett Tingley, Space.com, 13 Aug. 2026 Beyond the official count Ukraine’s Bring Kids Back UA, the official tracker of abducted children, lists over 20,000 possible cases of forcible deportation and transfer of children by Russia. Thom Reilly, The Conversation, 6 Aug. 2026 There were toddlers among the abducted children, according to the outlet. Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 17 May 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
Verb
Greg Baker Early on, investigators and the family believed Erica had been abducted. Yana Johnson, NBC news, 6 Sep. 2026 Some of those notes were believed to be authentic, so the belief is that Nancy was abducted for ransom. Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 4 Sep. 2026 Last week, dozens of people were shot and burned alive inside their homes in the hillside community of Kenscoff, on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, and more than 50 were abducted after gunmen stormed the town. Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2026 The 28-year-old’s mother allegedly claimed in a complaint to police that, on July 3, Kaur had been abducted by two acquaintances, assaulted, tied to a tree and set on fire, the outlets reported. Gina Kalsi, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026 Last week, scores of people were abducted in the central region of the country. ABC News, 1 Sep. 2026 After 33 years spent in Italy, Mariano Guerra, an Italian doctor, returns to Argentina to testify at the trial against the former military officers who abducted, tortured and enslaved him during the military dictatorship. Leo Barraclough, Variety, 31 Aug. 2026 The movie follows an Italian doctor, Mariano Guerra, who returns to Argentina after 33 years to testify at the trial against the former military officers who abducted, tortured, and enslaved him during the military dictatorship. Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 31 Aug. 2026 That 2015 election is significant because it was held a year after nearly 300 girls were abducted from a school in the northeast Nigerian town of Chibok by jihadist group Boko Haram. Alexis Akwagyiram, semafor.com, 31 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abducted
kidnapped
Verb
  • As a result, Affleck stars as a Los Angeles mayoral candidate struggling to amass a ransom after his son is kidnapped.
    A.A. Dowd, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Hazardous place for journalists Haiti has become an increasingly hazardous environment for journalists, who have been kidnapped and killed, caught in the crossfire of gang attacks and had their vehicles fired on by police.
    Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Abducted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abducted. Accessed 12 Sep. 2026.

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