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
Insulted, Beth calls her an extortionist and walks out.
—
Samantha Stutsman,
PEOPLE,
15 May 2026
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
Samantha Stutsman,
PEOPLE,
15 May 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extortionist
Noun
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Neither immigrant family should be linked to violent gangsters, of course.
-
By telling a relatively straightforward story that blends real people from the era of the Gotti Mafia family with imagined characters, Martin Scorsese's dramedy biopic about a kid who falls in love with the gangster life is as even-keeled as anything the director has made.
Noun
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Ditto Hugh Jackman’s unerring performance — perhaps his finest dramatic work yet — as a savage, unfeeling thug and unrepentant murderer and thief.
-
The actions of these thugs, who should be imprisoned for a long while, is the cause of denying real Knicks fans the chance to watch the game communally.
Noun
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The blackmailer continues to call her, demanding money in exchange for keeping her cam-boy secrets.
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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.
Noun
-
Ferro pleaded guilty in October 2025 to conspiracy to participate in a racketeer influenced and corrupt organization.
-
The characters were based on a real family of bookmakers and racketeers who once lived in England.
Cite this Entry
“Extortionist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extortionist. Accessed 25 Jun. 2026.
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