variants
also kidnaping
as in hijacking
the unlawful or forcible carrying away of a person or animal
an alert system for the prompt reporting of juvenile kidnappings
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
variants
also kidnaping
as in abducting
to carry away (as a person) forcibly or unlawfully
the child of the wealthy industrialist was kidnapped and held for ransom
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of kidnapping
Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
How a squad had burst into that house, taken away the adults, and left the children behind, all witnesses to the kidnapping.
—Mariana Enriquez
october 2, Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 2025
Federal convictions Daniels was found guilty in Miami federal court of kidnapping resulting in death of Osmar Oliva and Juan Gonzalez, stemming from an incident in an Opa-locka truck yard in December 2020.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2025
Sean-Michael Johnson, then 33, was charged with kidnapping and impersonating a police officer.
—Allison Gordon, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2025
So, what started as a steamy romance trilogy shifts into thriller territory, complete with high-speed car chases, kidnapping, and ridiculous life-or-death stakes.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Oct. 2025
Some of the advice here about kidnapping is a little extreme so don’t go down that alarmist route.
—Virginia Chamlee, PEOPLE, 1 Oct. 2025
An appeals court later overturned two of the kidnapping convictions, allowing two lesser felony convictions of parental kidnapping to stand.
—Kansas City Star, 29 Sep. 2025
The next day, police charged Lavery, Pham and Salerno with murder and kidnapping, public records show.
—Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 29 Sep. 2025
Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2025
Jesan escapes from defeat by kidnapping Ji-yeon and requesting Heon meet him alone.
—Kayti Burt, Time, 29 Sep. 2025
Jury from Jasper county hears Porter case The other case was a high-profile one in February 2006 involving Daniel Porter, who was accused of kidnapping his 7-year-old son, Sam, and 8-year-old daughter, Lindsey, in June 2004 to terrorize his ex-wife, Tina Porter.
—Kansas City Star, 29 Sep. 2025
In order to maintain their loyalty and increase their areas of control, the family allegedly began kidnapping people to obtain ransom money.
—Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 24 Sep. 2025
In 1975, a college professor named Claude Snelling was shot and killed in Visalia while trying to stop a gunman from kidnapping his teenage daughter.
—Ian Berry, CNN Money, 22 Sep. 2025
Our communities face attack after attack—floods and fires fueled by Big Oil, ICE agenda kidnapping our neighbors, congress revoking our healthcare.
—Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
Police arrested a person suspected of kidnapping a man after luring him to a location with promises of a photography session.
—Sally Krutzig, Idaho Statesman, 8 Sep. 2025
Brandon Conley faces one count of kidnapping a minor and one count of theft by unlawful taking or disposition of auto between $1,000 and $10,000.
—Caroline Neal, Louisville Courier Journal, 28 Aug. 2025
Noun
There’s something about kidnapping that scares the fear out of you, Goldberg-Polin says.
—Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
How a squad had burst into that house, taken away the adults, and left the children behind, all witnesses to the kidnapping.
—Mariana Enriquez
october 2, Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 2025
Federal convictions Daniels was found guilty in Miami federal court of kidnapping resulting in death of Osmar Oliva and Juan Gonzalez, stemming from an incident in an Opa-locka truck yard in December 2020.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2025
Sean-Michael Johnson, then 33, was charged with kidnapping and impersonating a police officer.
—Allison Gordon, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2025
So, what started as a steamy romance trilogy shifts into thriller territory, complete with high-speed car chases, kidnapping, and ridiculous life-or-death stakes.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Oct. 2025
Some of the advice here about kidnapping is a little extreme so don’t go down that alarmist route.
—Virginia Chamlee, PEOPLE, 1 Oct. 2025
An appeals court later overturned two of the kidnapping convictions, allowing two lesser felony convictions of parental kidnapping to stand.
—Kansas City Star, 29 Sep. 2025
The next day, police charged Lavery, Pham and Salerno with murder and kidnapping, public records show.
—Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 29 Sep. 2025
Verb
Daniels was also convicted of kidnapping Julio Verdecia, who survived a gunshot wound to the head.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2025
Jesan escapes from defeat by kidnapping Ji-yeon and requesting Heon meet him alone.
—Kayti Burt, Time, 29 Sep. 2025
Jury from Jasper county hears Porter case The other case was a high-profile one in February 2006 involving Daniel Porter, who was accused of kidnapping his 7-year-old son, Sam, and 8-year-old daughter, Lindsey, in June 2004 to terrorize his ex-wife, Tina Porter.
—Kansas City Star, 29 Sep. 2025
In order to maintain their loyalty and increase their areas of control, the family allegedly began kidnapping people to obtain ransom money.
—Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 24 Sep. 2025
In 1975, a college professor named Claude Snelling was shot and killed in Visalia while trying to stop a gunman from kidnapping his teenage daughter.
—Ian Berry, CNN Money, 22 Sep. 2025
Our communities face attack after attack—floods and fires fueled by Big Oil, ICE agenda kidnapping our neighbors, congress revoking our healthcare.
—Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
Police arrested a person suspected of kidnapping a man after luring him to a location with promises of a photography session.
—Sally Krutzig, Idaho Statesman, 8 Sep. 2025
Brandon Conley faces one count of kidnapping a minor and one count of theft by unlawful taking or disposition of auto between $1,000 and $10,000.
—Caroline Neal, Louisville Courier Journal, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kidnapping
Noun
-
The hijacking of the sport and the community institutions that built it, by noxious forces using it for their own means.—
Nick Miller,
New York Times,
24 Sep. 2025
-
This prevents session hijacking if the system keeps tokens cached.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The Her Smell director (and, relevantly, former Kim’s Video clerk) fully taps into his dark side for this sadistic little number about a community terrorized by a child-abducting serial killer.—
A.A. Dowd,
Vulture,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Bell was arrested in connection with abducting his ex-girlfriend near the University of South Florida in Tampa in July 2024, WFLA reported.—
Julia Marnin,
Miami Herald,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The story is based on the true case of the abduction in Israel of a seven-year-old Jewish boy, Yossele Schumacher, by his ultra-Orthodox grandfather in the early 1960s, to prevent him from being raised as a secular Jew by his parents.—
Annika Pham,
Variety,
6 Oct. 2025
-
The sequence that ends in her abduction and killing is entirely fabricated by the show.—
JR Radcliffe,
jsonline.com,
6 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Kidnapping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kidnapping. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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