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
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
Five days later, she was found alive – and authorities arrested a local suspect who was familiar with the family and her grandson’s construction company, abducting her to get $3 million ransom.
—Chris Kenning, USA Today, 8 Feb. 2026
Elleshia Anne Seymour — Kendall's ex-wife and the children's mother, who Utah authorities accuse of abducting them — has since been arrested in the Croatian city of Dubrovnik, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia confirms to PEOPLE.
—Samira Asma-Sadeque, PEOPLE, 28 Jan. 2026
After abducting the man, the kidnappers would become violent, cutting off fingers, ears, or nipples to pressure families into paying ransoms quickly, the Mexican officer says.
—Kevin Maurer, Rolling Stone, 13 Jan. 2026
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
Five days later, she was found alive – and authorities arrested a local suspect who was familiar with the family and her grandson’s construction company, abducting her to get $3 million ransom.
—Chris Kenning, USA Today, 8 Feb. 2026
Elleshia Anne Seymour — Kendall's ex-wife and the children's mother, who Utah authorities accuse of abducting them — has since been arrested in the Croatian city of Dubrovnik, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia confirms to PEOPLE.
—Samira Asma-Sadeque, PEOPLE, 28 Jan. 2026
After abducting the man, the kidnappers would become violent, cutting off fingers, ears, or nipples to pressure families into paying ransoms quickly, the Mexican officer says.
—Kevin Maurer, Rolling Stone, 13 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abducting
kidnapping
Verb
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Israel launched its retaliatory war in Gaza after fighters from Hamas — considered a terrorist organization by the US and European Union — attacked its south, killing around 1,200 people and kidnapping roughly 250 others.—
Fadwa Hodali,
Bloomberg,
8 Mar. 2026
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When her favorite horror scribe gets into an accident near her home, Wilkes ends up kidnapping Sheldon, and the rest is movie history.—
Brian Tallerico,
Vulture,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Abducting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abducting. Accessed 19 Mar. 2026.
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