as in gangsters
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of extortionists
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
Combined with other high-tech attacks, such as deepfake phishing attempts, AI agents will create new and potentially highly problematic avenues of attack for hackers, fraudsters and extortionists.
—Bernard Marr, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
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
Combined with other high-tech attacks, such as deepfake phishing attempts, AI agents will create new and potentially highly problematic avenues of attack for hackers, fraudsters and extortionists.
—Bernard Marr, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extortionists
Noun
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The other is about Chicago-style gangsters circa 1929.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
20 Oct. 2025
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This person mapped out the constellation of gangsters at the ceremony, and provided a video of the event to American agents.—
Ed Caesar,
New Yorker,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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In The Big Lebowski, thugs mistake the titular slacker (Bridges) for the wealthy Jeffrey Lebowski, sending him on a wild investigation with his pal Walter (John Goodman) into a ransom plot involving Lebowski’s young wife (Tara Reid).—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
8 Oct. 2025
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Their neighbor, an older Jewish woman, gets arrested and Nazi thugs brazenly loot her apartment.—
Rabih Alameddine
September 2,
Literary Hub,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Despite paying off blackmailers and marrying Lady Olivia Hedges (Danielle Galligan) to protect his secret, Arthur still loses his father’s Parliament seat after getting caught committing election fraud.—
Lynsey Eidell,
PEOPLE,
27 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Extortionists.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extortionists. Accessed 25 Oct. 2025.
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