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

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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 In 2018, his father was one of 12 people killed in a massacre linked to gang extortion of the transportation industry in the Honduran capital of Comayagüela, according to court records and media reports. Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 4 Sep. 2025 As a final step, the malware will create an extortion note for the victim. PC Magazine, 4 Sep. 2025 While the gang has principally focused on human trafficking and other crimes targeting migrants, it has also been linked to extortion, kidnapping, money laundering and drug smuggling, according to the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Ray Sanchez, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025 Spann had been facing mandatory life in prison after being convicted in November 2021 of directing or participating in four murders as well as a number of robberies and extortions over the course of two decades. Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 2 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for extortion
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extortion
Noun
  • When yet another affair is discovered (Kate Upton), all three women team up to plot mutual revenge on their cheating, lying, three-timing SOB.
    Caitlin White, Variety, 2 Sep. 2025
  • Byron had his arms wrapped around the company's HR chief, Kristin Cabot, and subsequently faced cheating allegations after they were spotted on the jumbotron.
    Megan Cartwright, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Even if what Weyland-Yutani has is blood-sucking, eye-gouging, and chest-bursting alien monsters.
    James Grebey, Vulture, 12 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • But in January, Axon CEO and billionaire cofounder Rick Smith killed their deal, accusing Flock of overcharging and trying to lock customers into its products.
    Thomas Brewster, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Normally, the ions slip between the atomic layers of the anode, a process called intercalation, but when the space between the layers is all filled up—as can happen during overcharging—there’s nowhere else for the lithium to go but onto the surface.
    Weiyang Li, IEEE Spectrum, 23 Aug. 2018
Noun
  • Then Denver slapped him with a four-year, $60 million deal that now looks like highway robbery compared to the rest of the NFL’s inflated edge market.
    Luca Evans, Denver Post, 25 July 2025
  • This was a dangerous situation and was literally highway robbery.
    U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Extortion.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extortion. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.

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