as in to coerce
to get (as money) by the use of force or threats a school bully who was used to extorting lunch money from weaker kids

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Synonym Chooser

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 show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of extort Since then, the Club Shay Shay host and his legal team have vehemently denied the allegations and claimed the Jane Doe set up the entire situation with a plan to extort him for $50 million. Regina Cho, VIBE.com, 5 May 2025 The charges come after police said a victim reported that Fitzpatrick allegedly extorted them. Fernando Cervantes Jr., USA Today, 24 Apr. 2025 Abrego Garcia left his home in El Salvador in 2011 at the age of sixteen after a local gang extorted his family's business, threatened to rape and kill his sisters, and made repeated threats on his life, according to immigration court filings. Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 18 Apr. 2025 In Smith's case, an image of her was doctored to create explicit pictures and videos, with her face edited onto different, partly nude bodies, and then used to try to extort money from others. Nicole Valdes, CBS News, 1 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for extort
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extort
Verb
  • Carter argued his confession was coerced, and the witnesses, two immigrants without legal status, later said police and prosecutors had pressured them to falsely implicate Carter.
    Khaleda Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 May 2025
  • The ensuing conflict between them takes an abrupt turn into a hotel-room two-hander as Anima fastens Abel to a bed and coerces him into confronting his feelings by playing his own music to him and dispensing shallow insights about how his songs’ upbeat melodies belie their cry-for-help content.
    Charles Bramesco, IndieWire, 15 May 2025
Verb
  • Umberto Rispoli squeezed between horses around the top of the stretch and then rode Journalism to a tremendous rally.
    Baltimore Sun staff, Baltimore Sun, 24 May 2025
  • Martinez’s son squeezed the trigger five times, shooting Rivera to death and wounding two others, the detective wrote in the affidavit.
    Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2025
Verb
  • Fey’s next big project, the Netflix comedy Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, wrung humor out of an abused, traumatized kidnapping victim’s adventures in a cruel city plagued by economic inequality.
    Judy Berman, Time, 1 May 2025
  • But there’s something abject about taking up such a fraught subject, wringing every ounce of suspense and dramatic potential out of it, and then backing away as though Tim’s arc is just another story of sad enlightenment.
    Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 8 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Many voters were not thrilled with Trump’s vows to exact revenge on his political enemies or pardon the Jan. 6 rioters.
    Philip Elliott, Time, 14 May 2025
  • The Cougars will now try to exact the same revenge on Western Washington, which has won 16 straight and is ranked eighth in the nation.
    Bill Center, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 May 2025
Verb
  • The prospect of the DeSantis administration wresting more control over the HBCU plays into longstanding anxieties that the state could cut into some of the university’s signature programs — or even merge the school with FSU, an idea lawmakers contemplated in the 1960s.
    Kate Payne, The Orlando Sentinel, 15 May 2025
  • Teddy tries to defend himself with a giant knife, which Joe wrests out of his hands, just in time for poor Henry to see the whole scuffle from the stairs.
    Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 25 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Extort.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extort. Accessed 29 May. 2025.

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