as in to abduct
to carry away (as a person) forcibly or unlawfully the child of the wealthy industrialist was kidnapped and held for ransom

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of kidnap Emma Stone's getting kidnapped. Brian Truitt, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2025 In the years leading up to the general election in 1999, my parents locked us in the house—the one-bedroom apartment on Ogunleye Street where my elder sister and I were born—because children were being kidnapped for money rituals. Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2025 In December, a married couple was kidnapped by a group of undocumented migrants in their Aurora, Colorado, apartment complex. Ray Sanchez, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025 Hawley waited until the start of the fifth season to lean all the way into the comparison, by borrowing the movie’s inciting incident where a Minnesota Nice housewife is kidnapped by two goons — one hapless, one relentless and seemingly mystical. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 2 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for kidnap
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kidnap
abduct
Verb
  • This thrilling prequel stars Anya Taylor-Joy as Furiosa and Alyla Browne as young Furiosa, who is abducted by the savage warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) — leader of the Biker Horde — and spends the next decade in captivity plotting her revenge and escape.
    Charlotte Walsh, People.com, 1 Sep. 2025
  • Reuters news agency initially reported the letter referred to the thousands of Ukrainian children reportedly abducted by Russian forces since the invasion began in February 2022, but the letter only referred to helping children in general terms.
    James Bickerton, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Kidnap.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kidnap. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

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