How does the verb extort contrast with its synonyms?
Some common synonyms of extort are educe, elicit, evoke, and extract. While all these words mean "to draw out something hidden, latent, or reserved," extort suggests a wringing or wresting from one who resists strongly.
extorted their cooperation by threatening to inform
Where would educe be a reasonable alternative to extort?
While the synonyms educe and extort are close in meaning, educe implies the bringing out of something potential or latent.
educed order out of chaos
In what contexts can elicit take the place of extort?
In some situations, the words elicit and extort are roughly equivalent. However, elicit usually implies some effort or skill in drawing forth a response.
careful questioning elicited the truth
When is evoke a more appropriate choice than extort?
The synonyms evoke and extort are sometimes interchangeable, but evoke implies a strong stimulus that arouses an emotion or an interest or recalls an image or memory.
a song that evokes warm memories
When could extract be used to replace extort?
The words extract and extort can be used in similar contexts, but extract implies the use of force or pressure in obtaining answers or information.
extracted a confession from him
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of extortHe should have been arrested right then and there for the FBI for trying to extort Natalie's mother.—Audrey Conklin, FOXNews.com, 30 May 2025 Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, then alleged in a legal filing that Lively was attempting to extort a statement of support from Swift.—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 22 May 2025 Lane then allegedly extorted the companies for ransoms.—Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 20 May 2025 In addition, the hackers even tried to extort Coinbase itself, demanding a $20 million payment from the cryptocurrency company to cover up the incident.—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 15 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for extort
In some cases, governments even coerce companies into accepting artificially low prices by threatening to violate their patents and allow other manufacturers to produce copycat drugs.
—
Rosa Mendoza,
Boston Herald,
16 June 2025
Geragos has tried to portray Jane as a willing participant in encounters with male escorts and entertainers while Diddy watched, to undermine prosecution claims that she was coerced and trafficked.
Despite remaining hugely cash-generative at the operating level, outgoings on player transfers, loan interest and the £50million investment at the Carrington training ground have squeezed their ability to spend quite so readily as in the past.
—
Gregg Evans,
New York Times,
17 June 2025
Team-building is not about squeezing sufficient value out of every single contract or assembling a roster of yes men.
Founded in 1902 and one of the oldest brands in the world, Cadillac was also the first car built to exacting standards of fit that allowed parts to be easily interchanged or replaced.
—
Robert Ross,
Robb Report,
18 June 2025
The inspectors tested hundreds of exacting standards, with an emphasis on exceptional service, which accounts for 70% of a property’s rating.
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