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
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Recent Examples of extorting
The official reports into that incident show that Epstein initially told prison officials that his cellmate had tried to kill him after extorting him for money.
—
Julie K. Brown, Miami Herald, 8 Mar. 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
The traveler confessed to extorting others to commit self-harm, the memo said.
—Curt Devine, CNN Money, 10 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
Julie K. Brown, Miami Herald, 8 Mar. 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
The traveler confessed to extorting others to commit self-harm, the memo said.
—Curt Devine, CNN Money, 10 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extorting
Verb
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Serve with garlic toasts and lemon wedges for squeezing over if desired.—
Rebecca Firkser,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
25 Mar. 2026
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Photos and video show the explorers squeezing through jagged crevices deep inside the karsts, using flashlights to guide them further along an otherwise pitch-black maze of rocky burrows.—
Emily Mae Czachor,
CBS News,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Meyers is also accused of coercing the 15-year-old into recording the high school’s wrestling team, the complaint alleges.—
Brittany Kubicko,
NBC news,
20 Feb. 2026
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Guevara and two colleagues, Mason and then-Detective Ernest Halvorson, orchestrated a frame-up by coercing one witness to identify Rios by beating him with a phone book and flashlight, and another by threatening to charge him with obstruction, according to the plaintiffs’ allegations.—
Jason Meisner,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The Capella Kyoto team bring a beautiful humanity to their exacting brand of hospitality.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
21 Mar. 2026
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Few cooperative apartment houses in New York are as distinguished—or as tightly controlled by an exacting board—as the stately limestone building at the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 66th Street.—
Demetrius Simms,
Robb Report,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
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That is what Emma is doing in this scene by talking to Mark, looking at the floor demurely, and wringing her hands precisely three (3) times.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
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But the response should not be hand-wringing or name-calling.—
Reardon Sullivan,
Baltimore Sun,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The video shows Ritchson riding on the motorbike when a man, Taylor, steps in front of the bike, forcing Ritchson to stop.—
Austin Mullen,
NBC news,
24 Mar. 2026
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Nothing might seem to have longer odds in deep-red Oklahoma than an effort to lessen punishments for violent crimes, but overcrowded prisons and rising costs were already forcing a rethinking of harsh, decades-old sentencing laws.—
Pamela Colloff,
ProPublica,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Companies bracing for higher energy costs are already wresting with tariffs, inflation and bigger labor costs.—
Christopher Rugaber,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Mar. 2026
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Trotsky hurled items from the desk at Mercader before wresting the ice pick from his grip.—
Josh Ireland,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Extorting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extorting. Accessed 28 Mar. 2026.
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