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
Anyway, back to abducting the president of Venezuela.
—
Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Jan. 2026
An investigation revealed the suspect threatened the victim with a knife, abducting her from the street, according to Montgomery County detectives.
—Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN Money, 29 Dec. 2025
In the far north, Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province regularly swoop into villages in overnight raids, killing, abducting and destroying.
—Paul Tilsley, FOXNews.com, 28 Dec. 2025
Ex high school benchwarmers are roaming the streets abducting mestizos.
—Rafael Perez, Oc Register, 30 Nov. 2025
Assailants in Nigeria attacked a church during a service, killing at least two worshippers and abducting the pastor and several others, authorities said.
—Somayeh Malekian, ABC News, 19 Nov. 2025
On October 7, 2023, Hamas led an attack against Israel, killing 1,200 and abducting 251.
—Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025
Nathan Alan Gingles is accused of abducting his 4-year-daughter and killing her mother, grandfather and a neighbor in Tamarac.
—Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2025
The Her Smell director (and, relevantly, former Kim’s Video clerk) fully taps into his dark side for this sadistic little number about a community terrorized by a child-abducting serial killer.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 3 Oct. 2025
Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Jan. 2026
An investigation revealed the suspect threatened the victim with a knife, abducting her from the street, according to Montgomery County detectives.
—Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN Money, 29 Dec. 2025
In the far north, Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province regularly swoop into villages in overnight raids, killing, abducting and destroying.
—Paul Tilsley, FOXNews.com, 28 Dec. 2025
Ex high school benchwarmers are roaming the streets abducting mestizos.
—Rafael Perez, Oc Register, 30 Nov. 2025
Assailants in Nigeria attacked a church during a service, killing at least two worshippers and abducting the pastor and several others, authorities said.
—Somayeh Malekian, ABC News, 19 Nov. 2025
On October 7, 2023, Hamas led an attack against Israel, killing 1,200 and abducting 251.
—Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025
Nathan Alan Gingles is accused of abducting his 4-year-daughter and killing her mother, grandfather and a neighbor in Tamarac.
—Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2025
The Her Smell director (and, relevantly, former Kim’s Video clerk) fully taps into his dark side for this sadistic little number about a community terrorized by a child-abducting serial killer.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 3 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abducting
kidnapping
Verb
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Faced with the sudden loss of millions of dollars in income, the cartels pivoted in the months after the election to kidnapping residents of Juárez.—
Kevin Maurer,
Rolling Stone,
13 Jan. 2026
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Two teenage girls are charged with kidnapping a teenage boy after allegedly luring him into a basement and beating him for three hours in early November.—
Kyle Werner,
Des Moines Register,
9 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Abducting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abducting. Accessed 17 Jan. 2026.
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