as in kidnapping
the unlawful or forcible carrying away of a person or animal
discredited reports of abductions by aliens
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Recent Examples of abduction
The army said the assailants were forced to abandon the abduction of 31 hostages after troops responded to a distress call.
—
ABC News, 6 Apr. 2026
Taken against her will includes possible kidnapping or abduction.
—Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Apr. 2026
Savannah Guthrie joined Good Shepherd New York’s digital Easter gathering on Sunday morning to share a message of hope amid her mother’s unsolved abduction.
—Jack Dunn, Variety, 5 Apr. 2026
According to the outlet, only one detective had more than 3 years of experience investigating homicides at the time of the abduction, with the other five having less than two.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 4 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for abduction
ABC News, 6 Apr. 2026
Taken against her will includes possible kidnapping or abduction.
—Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Apr. 2026
Savannah Guthrie joined Good Shepherd New York’s digital Easter gathering on Sunday morning to share a message of hope amid her mother’s unsolved abduction.
—Jack Dunn, Variety, 5 Apr. 2026
According to the outlet, only one detective had more than 3 years of experience investigating homicides at the time of the abduction, with the other five having less than two.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 4 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for abduction
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abduction
Noun
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In the most recent kidnapping, officers described the suspect as a 40-year-old man.—
Matthew Rodriguez,
CBS News,
3 Apr. 2026
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Reports indicate that the possibility of an internet outage the night of the kidnapping was also looked into.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
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His son, Farouk, was a suspect in the rape and murder of 23-year-old Norwegian student Martine Vik Magnussen in London in 2008.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
8 Apr. 2026
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Alexander William Schecter, 26, was charged with kidnapping to commit another crime, first-degree residential robbery, two counts of forcible oral copulation and forcible rape, all of which are felonies, according to a news release shared by the DA's Office.—
Dean Fioresi,
CBS News,
7 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Abduction.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abduction. Accessed 11 Apr. 2026.
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