as in gangster
a person who gets money from another by using force or threats
extortioners threatened to beat up the shop owner if he didn't pay the bribe
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extortioner
Noun
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Or downtown was too unsafe, during the gangster era.—
Jared Kaufman,
Twin Cities,
11 Jan. 2026 -
Beset by gangs and guns, the Haçienda faltered in the ’90s despite clever-sounding schemes such as replacing the club’s security with the gangsters themselves.—
Boris Kachka,
The Atlantic,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
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In this black comedy adapted from the graphic novel, when a bunch of thugs come to her door demanding that Paige’s grandfather (Liam Neeson) help them out with a bank heist, Paige decides to rescue him by doing it herself, with her friends.—
Emily Temple,
Literary Hub,
12 Jan. 2026
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Although the film became a template for white revenge fantasies, its street thugs are assembled with almost comic care to avoid racial bias.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Nike depicts Total90 as an extortionist.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
2 Dec. 2025
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Several customers, a Miami-Dade judge and now the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services say Thompson’s a fraudulent, bait-and-switch extortionist.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
27 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Although the threat of death was everywhere in this show, the list of actual deaths is relatively short and the majority had to do with the anonymous blackmailer and the secrets and lies built around Alison’s fake death.—
Catherine Mhloyi,
Them.,
29 Oct. 2025
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Things get complicated when Shay recruits the neighborhood creep for backup and Yaki brings in an ex-cop to smoke out his blackmailer.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
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When Ferrara was starting out, private investment in low-budget films was spurred by tax loopholes, a way for doctors, dentists, and racketeers to get rid of extra cash that would otherwise wind up in Uncle Sam’s grubby mitts.—
Nick Pinkerton,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
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In a police photograph, Lansky stood next to racketeer Charles (Lucky) Luciano.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
3 Apr. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Extortioner.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extortioner. Accessed 22 Jan. 2026.
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