as in gangster
a person who gets money from another by using force or threats
tortured by a gang of extortionists into revealing the combination for the money vault
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Recent Examples of extortionist
As the bomb squad works to disarm it, FBI rushes to catch the extortionists.
—
William Earl, Variety, 29 Apr. 2026
The movie follows Reef Hawk (Keanu Reeves), an A-list Hollywood star and recovering addict who fears the destruction of his reputation when a mysterious extortionist threatens to release a damaging video of him.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Apr. 2026
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, 6 Feb. 2026
Nike depicts Total90 as an extortionist.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 2 Dec. 2025
The place is the Savin Bar + Kitchen, in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, where immediately inside the front door, patrons are greeted by a larger-than-life framed mugshot of Bulger — the mob-boss, murderer, bank robber, drug dealer and extortionist — peering cooly out from under his fedora.
—Tovia Smith, NPR, 24 Oct. 2025
Although the murderers are often characters with redeeming qualities, Nolan Hurst (David Cross) is more sympathetic than most, and his killing of toy store manager/part-time extortionist Patrick Palmer (Drew Seltzer) is an unpremeditated act of desperation, not the settling of a score.
—Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2025
These kinds of sweeping outages are typically the result either of ransomware attacks, where online extortionists paralyse corporate networks in the hope of payment, or deliberate sabotage.
—Reuters, NBC news, 20 Sep. 2025
These kinds of sweeping outages are typically the result either of ransomware attacks, where online extortionists paralyze corporate networks in the hope of payment, or deliberate digital sabotage.
—Reuters, CNN Money, 20 Sep. 2025
William Earl, Variety, 29 Apr. 2026
The movie follows Reef Hawk (Keanu Reeves), an A-list Hollywood star and recovering addict who fears the destruction of his reputation when a mysterious extortionist threatens to release a damaging video of him.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Apr. 2026
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, 6 Feb. 2026
Nike depicts Total90 as an extortionist.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 2 Dec. 2025
The place is the Savin Bar + Kitchen, in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, where immediately inside the front door, patrons are greeted by a larger-than-life framed mugshot of Bulger — the mob-boss, murderer, bank robber, drug dealer and extortionist — peering cooly out from under his fedora.
—Tovia Smith, NPR, 24 Oct. 2025
Although the murderers are often characters with redeeming qualities, Nolan Hurst (David Cross) is more sympathetic than most, and his killing of toy store manager/part-time extortionist Patrick Palmer (Drew Seltzer) is an unpremeditated act of desperation, not the settling of a score.
—Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2025
These kinds of sweeping outages are typically the result either of ransomware attacks, where online extortionists paralyse corporate networks in the hope of payment, or deliberate sabotage.
—Reuters, NBC news, 20 Sep. 2025
These kinds of sweeping outages are typically the result either of ransomware attacks, where online extortionists paralyze corporate networks in the hope of payment, or deliberate digital sabotage.
—Reuters, CNN Money, 20 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extortionist
Noun
-
The only ones making money on alcohol now were gangsters.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
12 May 2026
-
The gangsters who are running the country almost pride themselves on a lack of subtlety and finesse.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
11 May 2026
Noun
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The masked thugs deposit a tearful middle-aged woman in front of Bass, Newsom, and Harris.—
Conor Friedersdorf,
The Atlantic,
12 May 2026
-
White thugs destroyed it in the 1921 Race Massacre.—
Jasmine Desiree,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2026
Noun
-
On advice of his crisis lawyer Ira Slitz (Hill, unrecognizable with a bald head and gray beard), Reef sets out to apologize to everyone from his past who may be angry with him in an effort to find the blackmailer.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
9 Apr. 2026
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In Season 2, eager to take on another big undercover case, Charles Nieuwendyk (Danson) gets his chance when a mysterious blackmailer targets Wheeler College president Jack Berenger (Max Greenfield), who enlists Charles to go undercover as a professor.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Ferro pleaded guilty in October 2025 to conspiracy to participate in a racketeer influenced and corrupt organization.—
Marc Ramirez,
USA Today,
8 May 2026
-
The characters were based on a real family of bookmakers and racketeers who once lived in England.—
Sarah Moore,
Freep.com,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Extortionist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extortionist. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
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