as in kidnapings
the unlawful or forcible carrying away of a person or animal
discredited reports of abductions by aliens
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Recent Examples of abductions
Yale’s lab has tracked these abductions for years now, and the group released its latest report on Tuesday, which shed more light on the scope and scale of Russia’s indoctrination efforts.
—
Mike Brest, The Washington Examiner, 16 Sep. 2025
Researchers also note that alternative silencing tactics, such as abductions and criminalization, appear to be on the rise globally.
—Simmone Shah, Time, 16 Sep. 2025
And the abductions keep happening.
—Kaycee Sloan, Cincinnati Enquirer, 10 Sep. 2025
The artists say that the number of such abductions since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2014 range from 20,000 to over a million.
—Joanne Shurvell, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
The high-profile kidnapping is among several abductions that have continued to take place in Haiti, where armed gangs have carried out attacks against large swaths of the capital to control territory.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 29 Aug. 2025
Dalton then relies on her colleagues Kofi (Lucian Msamati), Ayesha (Hiftu Quasem) and Kathy (Sara Powell) to help her gain access to her cabinet and expose General Livingston (Mark Lewis Jones) as the mastermind behind the country’s terrorist attacks and the French Guiana abductions.
—Nicole Briese, People.com, 22 Aug. 2025
When military-wing members in the West Bank kidnapped three Israeli teenagers in 2014, for example, Meshaal at first denied Hamas’ involvement before admitting that he had simply not been told about the abductions in advance.
—Grant Rumley, Foreign Affairs, 9 Mar. 2017
Mike Brest, The Washington Examiner, 16 Sep. 2025
Researchers also note that alternative silencing tactics, such as abductions and criminalization, appear to be on the rise globally.
—Simmone Shah, Time, 16 Sep. 2025
And the abductions keep happening.
—Kaycee Sloan, Cincinnati Enquirer, 10 Sep. 2025
The artists say that the number of such abductions since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2014 range from 20,000 to over a million.
—Joanne Shurvell, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
The high-profile kidnapping is among several abductions that have continued to take place in Haiti, where armed gangs have carried out attacks against large swaths of the capital to control territory.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 29 Aug. 2025
Dalton then relies on her colleagues Kofi (Lucian Msamati), Ayesha (Hiftu Quasem) and Kathy (Sara Powell) to help her gain access to her cabinet and expose General Livingston (Mark Lewis Jones) as the mastermind behind the country’s terrorist attacks and the French Guiana abductions.
—Nicole Briese, People.com, 22 Aug. 2025
When military-wing members in the West Bank kidnapped three Israeli teenagers in 2014, for example, Meshaal at first denied Hamas’ involvement before admitting that he had simply not been told about the abductions in advance.
—Grant Rumley, Foreign Affairs, 9 Mar. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abductions
rapes
Noun
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Legislators lengthened the state’s deadline to prosecute rapes of adults from 10 to 15 years.—
Willoughby Mariano,
ProPublica,
11 Sep. 2025
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For more than four decades, the home invasion rapes of two women went unsolved, California prosecutors say.—
Daniella Segura,
Sacbee.com,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Abductions.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abductions. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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