Synonyms of extorting

extorting

verb

present participle of extort

as in squeezing

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

• squeezing
• coercing
• exacting
• wringing
• forcing
• wresting
• milking
• gouging
• swindling
• fleecing
• bleeding
• cheating
• skinning
• racketeering
• compelling

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of extorting

The report describes Indigenous patrols in Venezuela allegedly working alongside armed groups controlling mining areas and extorting workers along river routes. —Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 13 May 2026

Dozens of armed groups run rampant in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas, extorting businesses, kidnapping people and driving farmers off their land. —Caitlin Stephen Hu, CNN Money, 6 Apr. 2026

There had been tension between Bo Nagar’s force and the local PDF units since last year over his BNRA fighters allegedly extorting money at road checkpoints. —ABC News, 19 Feb. 2026

Hayley — who turns out to be a hooker who does secretarial admin on the side and not an executive assistant who occasionally threesomes — is extorting him for $750,000. —Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 16 Feb. 2026

Bandit gangs control entire districts, extorting protection money from communities in cash or kind, killing those that resist. —Obi Anyadike, semafor.com, 26 Jan. 2026

Instead of extorting money to decrypt data in a company’s own system, an attacker can just threaten to release sensitive data if the ransom isn’t paid. —Megan Poinski, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026

After a relative suffered an accident, the cops who responded ended up extorting money from him, Ramírez said. —Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2026

The couple allegedly asked customers’ family members to send original passports to them and then frequently refused to return the passports unless customers paid hundreds of dollars more, effectively extorting them, Ellison’s office said. —Kristi Miller, Twin Cities, 22 Dec. 2025