extorts

Definition of extortsnext
present tense third-person singular of extort
as in exacts
to get (as money) by the use of force or threats a school bully who was used to extorting lunch money from weaker kids

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for extorts
Verb
  • Could the Golden Globes be where Kathy exacts her revenge?
    Nate Jones, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2026
  • Despite the toll Bug exacts, however, Coon is in exceptionally good humor—if with the blinking optimism of a new year in an unstable reality.
    Juan A. Ramírez, Vogue, 9 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • This example of the latter skillfully squeezes a comfortable home for two into a single shipping container.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 11 Jan. 2026
  • As the moon follows an elliptical path, Saturn’s gravity stretches and squeezes it.
    Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 17 Dec. 2025
Verb
  • However, the rotation of this filament clearly dominates how the galaxies within it spin, perhaps by funneling hydrogen gas along the dark-matter filament and onto the galaxies in a way that coerces their spin while providing further fuel for star formation.
    Keith Cooper, Space.com, 4 Dec. 2025
  • Haunted by the suspicious death of his ailing mother, Ali, a university professor, coerces his enigmatic gardener to execute a cold-blooded act of vengeance.
    Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 14 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • There is a premonitory moment, too, in this book that wrings so much drama from so many backdoor meetings.
    Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2026
  • Austen wrings a great deal of humor from Lady Bertram’s dopey languor.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • Here, the director wrests a radioactive joy from observing Godard generate ideas with his ensemble, even as others pull their hair out around him.
    David Sims, The Atlantic, 4 Nov. 2025
  • Seattle fans can already envision a future where a one-loss Seahawks team wrests control of the division away from Los Angeles in early November, but Tampa Bay has to be the first domino to fall.
    J.J. Bailey, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
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.

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“Extorts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extorts. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.

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