extortion

noun

ik-ˈstȯr-shən How to pronounce extortion (audio)
Definition of extortionnext
as in cheating
the exaction of a grossly excessive charge for goods or services six dollars for a cup of coffee is just plain extortion

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 extortion Lenderking said the Houthis generate revenue through black-market oil sales, taxation and extortion while also forcing families to provide recruits, allowing the group to continue fighting even if Iranian assistance is cut off. — Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026 Hill questioned the board’s oversight of the payments and accused it of extortion. — Charlotte Observer, 10 Oct. 2026 Trump’s draconian immigration measures have made recent deportees and asylum seekers alike easy targets for extortion, kidnapping, and occasionally recruitment by certain cartels along the US-Mexico border. — Daniel Peña, Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2026 The Hobbs Act prohibits actual or attempted robbery or extortion affecting interstate or foreign commerce. — Julie Sharp, CBS News, 5 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for extortion
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extortion
  1. cheating
  2. gouging
  3. highway robbery
  4. fleecing
  5. overcharging
Noun
  • The findings followed scrutiny of a Washington Post column criticizing AI cheating, as colleges nationwide confront how the technology is changing teaching and writing.
    — Heather Hollingsworth, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2026
  • The risks are already visible in models that deploy agents capable of evading their guardrails, escaping their sandboxes, cheating to obtain their goals, and covering their tracks to conceal the cheating.
    — NIALL FERGUSON, Foreign Affairs, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of cheating
Noun
  • For Abbott and for Ken Paxton, who beat Cornyn in an eye-gouging, rabbit-punching Republican Senate primary, the answer was, for all intents, the latter.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Other advantages include the fact that ownership of compute may reduce dependency on price fluctuations and gouging.
    — Forbes.com, Forbes.com, 27 June 2026
Definition of gouging
Noun
  • In March 1829, he was convicted in London on two counts of highway robbery and sentenced to fourteen years.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 July 2026
  • Three games into his Colorado Rapids tenure, the club paying $125,000 in General Allocation Money — less than the going price of an international roster slot — is looking like highway robbery.
    — Braidon Nourse, Denver Post, 14 Sep. 2025
Definition of highway robbery
Noun
  • Thanks to its fleecing of New Orleans during last year’s draft, Atlanta gets either the Pelicans’ or the Bucks’ first-round pick — whichever winds up higher.
    — Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 6 May 2026
Definition of fleecing
Noun
  • That overcharging could prompt the system to shut down the car’s electric drive system and result in a loss of drive power.
    — Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Tourists should also be aware of overcharging and scams from aggressive vendors.
    — Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 15 July 2026
Definition of overcharging

Browse Nearby Words

extorting
extortion
extortionately
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Cite this Entry

“Extortion.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extortion. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on extortion

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about extortion

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