as in kidnapping
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 abducting
Horner told a false story about hitting Athena with the truck and abducting her in a panic, Espinoza said.
—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Apr. 2026
Horner admitted to abducting Strand while delivering a package to her father’s home in Paradise, a town of fewer than 500 people about 60 miles northwest of Dallas.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 7 Apr. 2026
Ramos, 82, denied abducting the 6-year-old and was never charged in his disappearance.
—ABC News, 19 Mar. 2026
City officials said there were no credible reports of Haitian immigrants abducting and eating pets.
—Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 16 Mar. 2026
Marina Noriega, 23, was indicted for abducting toddler Kehlani Rogers last month, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced in a news release.
—Michelle Cruz, AZCentral.com, 6 Mar. 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
In the 1920s, on a chicken ranch in Riverside County, a mother-and-son pair was abducting boys, molesting them and murdering them with an ax.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2026
Another Jefferson County circuit judge, Jessica Green, last year drew local and national criticism after granting shock probation to a 32-year-old man accused of abducting a mother and two children and stabbing the mother during a bank robbery.
—Monroe Trombly, Louisville Courier Journal, 10 Feb. 2026
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Apr. 2026
Horner admitted to abducting Strand while delivering a package to her father’s home in Paradise, a town of fewer than 500 people about 60 miles northwest of Dallas.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 7 Apr. 2026
Ramos, 82, denied abducting the 6-year-old and was never charged in his disappearance.
—ABC News, 19 Mar. 2026
City officials said there were no credible reports of Haitian immigrants abducting and eating pets.
—Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 16 Mar. 2026
Marina Noriega, 23, was indicted for abducting toddler Kehlani Rogers last month, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced in a news release.
—Michelle Cruz, AZCentral.com, 6 Mar. 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
In the 1920s, on a chicken ranch in Riverside County, a mother-and-son pair was abducting boys, molesting them and murdering them with an ax.
—Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2026
Another Jefferson County circuit judge, Jessica Green, last year drew local and national criticism after granting shock probation to a 32-year-old man accused of abducting a mother and two children and stabbing the mother during a bank robbery.
—Monroe Trombly, Louisville Courier Journal, 10 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abducting
kidnapping
Verb
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After kidnapping the child, Horner strangled Athena and dumped her body in the Trinity River in rural Wise County.—
Harriet Ramos,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
8 Apr. 2026
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Kataib Hezbollah has been accused of kidnapping other foreigners.—
Todd Richmond,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Abducting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abducting. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
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