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
ABC News, 27 Apr. 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
In response to Amber's heart-wrenching case, a Texas mom named Diana Simone had the idea to create an emergency system for abducted children, similar to a weather or civil defense alert.
—Emily Krauser, PEOPLE, 13 Jan. 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
Cheery and resolute Vault 33 dweller Lucy (Ella Purnell) left her underground home to find her abducted father, Hank (Kyle MacLachlan), and in doing so realized the difficulty of living by the golden rule in a world that’s defined by ruthlessness and want.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 16 Dec. 2025
Kansas City Star, 22 May 2026
In Paige Lewis’s brilliant debut novel, Canon, the beautiful wife of an army general is abducted.
—Literary Hub, 21 May 2026
Harris also abducted the man’s girlfriend, who escaped physically unharmed.
—Erik Ortiz, NBC news, 20 May 2026
Athena was abducted from her Wise County home and killed by FedEx driver Tanner Horner.
—Amelia Mugavero, CBS News, 20 May 2026
In the doc, Sherri changed her story and claimed that Reyes abducted her without her consent and held her at his apartment in Costa Mesa, Calif.
—Jessica Sager, PEOPLE, 19 May 2026
Across the country, two secondary schools in the southwestern Oyo state were attacked hours apart on Friday, and at least 40 children were abducted there, according to Amnesty’s Nigeria branch.
—ABC News, 17 May 2026
Peter Wabba, a government official from Mussa, said Sunday that he was told that 48 children had been abducted in Oyo.
—Dyepkazah Shibayan, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2026
The 84-year-old is suspected to have been abducted from her bedroom in the early morning hours.
—Brie Stimson, FOXNews.com, 14 May 2026
Adjective
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
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
In response to Amber's heart-wrenching case, a Texas mom named Diana Simone had the idea to create an emergency system for abducted children, similar to a weather or civil defense alert.
—Emily Krauser, PEOPLE, 13 Jan. 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
Cheery and resolute Vault 33 dweller Lucy (Ella Purnell) left her underground home to find her abducted father, Hank (Kyle MacLachlan), and in doing so realized the difficulty of living by the golden rule in a world that’s defined by ruthlessness and want.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 16 Dec. 2025
Verb
All hospitals, as part of their accreditation, have emergency codes and plans for storms, abducted babies, gunmen on the premises.
—Kansas City Star, 22 May 2026
In Paige Lewis’s brilliant debut novel, Canon, the beautiful wife of an army general is abducted.
—Literary Hub, 21 May 2026
Harris also abducted the man’s girlfriend, who escaped physically unharmed.
—Erik Ortiz, NBC news, 20 May 2026
Athena was abducted from her Wise County home and killed by FedEx driver Tanner Horner.
—Amelia Mugavero, CBS News, 20 May 2026
In the doc, Sherri changed her story and claimed that Reyes abducted her without her consent and held her at his apartment in Costa Mesa, Calif.
—Jessica Sager, PEOPLE, 19 May 2026
Across the country, two secondary schools in the southwestern Oyo state were attacked hours apart on Friday, and at least 40 children were abducted there, according to Amnesty’s Nigeria branch.
—ABC News, 17 May 2026
Peter Wabba, a government official from Mussa, said Sunday that he was told that 48 children had been abducted in Oyo.
—Dyepkazah Shibayan, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2026
The 84-year-old is suspected to have been abducted from her bedroom in the early morning hours.
—Brie Stimson, FOXNews.com, 14 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abducted
kidnapped
Verb
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Busby kidnapped Crane from the parking lot of a Tom Thumb grocery store in Fort Worth.—
Emerson Clarridge,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
15 May 2026
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The thriller, based on the bestselling book The Chain by Adrian McKinty, follows Rachel (Comer), a suburban mom who must consider the unthinkable when her daughter is kidnapped.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Abducted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abducted. Accessed 25 May. 2026.
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