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
Prior to abducting the girl from her bed, Braddy, now 76, had been severely beating Candy's mother Shandelle Maycock, 22, and choked her to the point of unconsciousness multiple times, according to a brief filed in Florida Supreme Court and obtained by PEOPLE.
—
Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 21 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
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
Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 21 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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abducting
kidnapping
Verb
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Putin's decades-long rule in Russia has included allegedly orchestrating dozens of murders of dissidents like Alexei Navalny, using the country as his personal piggy bank and kidnapping thousands of Ukrainian children.—
Josh Meyer,
USA Today,
24 Jan. 2026
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Mitchell, now 72, was convicted in 2010 of kidnapping Smart and sentenced to life in prison.—
Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
24 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Abducting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abducting. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
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