RACKETEER Synonyms: 77 Similar and Opposite Words

racketeer 1 of 2

noun

ˌra-kə-ˈtir

Definition of racketeer

as in gangster

a person who gets money from another by using force or threats the racketeer threatened to have his thugs vandalize the shop if the shopkeeper didn't pay him a monthly bribe

Synonyms & Similar Words

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racketeer

2 of 2

verb

as in to blackmail

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Dissimilar Words

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 racketeer

Noun

In a police photograph, Lansky stood next to racketeer Charles (Lucky) Luciano. — Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2025 Oh yeah, this relationship with this 38-year-old racketeer is so beautiful. — Michael Cuby, Them, 1 Aug. 2024

Verb

Each man pleaded guilty to racketeering enterprise conspiracy, or RICO, charges that were brought last September as the third indictment in a sweeping MS-13 case first opened in 2017. — Flint McColgan, Boston Herald, 15 July 2025 The case for racketeering conspiracy Prosecutors’ toughest challenge will likely be securing a conviction on the racketeering conspiracy charge, experts agreed, citing its complexity and the novelty of its application in the Combs case. — Dakin Andone, CNN Money, 25 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for racketeer

Recent Examples of Synonyms for racketeer

Noun

Though Pachinko featured more angels than demons, Lee still convincingly inhabited Koh Hansu, the gangster and groomer.

— Sanjena Sathian, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
Born Again followed Fisk who goes from being a gangster to a NYC autocrat mayor.

— Denise Petski, Deadline, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of gangster

Verb

There’s also a subplot involving John being blackmailed by a café waitress regarding him punching Hal right before he was killed.

— Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2026
Assassination-for-hire is the tragicomic domain of people looking for someone to kill a spouse or a rival but getting blackmailed by teenagers pretending to be hit men in the process.

— Finn Brunton, Harpers Magazine, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of blackmail

Noun

That a Christian man was responsible for the devastation in Oklahoma City certainly didn’t matter to the thugs who terrorized a Muslim woman there, nearly seven months pregnant, by attacking her home, breaking her windows, screaming religious slurs.

— Reshma Memon Yaqub, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026
On a cold night in November 2011, in a field outside Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, a gang of thugs stormed a Soviet scientific research institute, beat and humiliated the staff and burned the place to the ground.

— Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of thug

Verb

And Hill sent board members a 14-page memorandum with more than 200 pages of exhibits, alleging the board had tried to extort her and questioning ties between board members and CMS contractors.

— Josh Bergeron, Charlotte Observer, 22 Sep. 2026
He was accused of extorting private contractors for bribes between 2018 and 2021 in exchange for helping the companies keep and obtain work on school construction contracts.

— David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of extort

Noun

Apple’s decision to briefly remove Telegram from the App Store has been blamed on a blackmailer duping the company into executing a takedown, according to Telegram’s CEO.

— Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026
The blackmailer continues to call her, demanding money in exchange for keeping her cam-boy secrets.

— Erin Qualey, Vulture, 29 May 2026

Definition of blackmailer

Verb

The actor has also been muscling his way into movies, appearing as part of the ensemble of the 2023 Fast & Furious movie Fast 10 and in 2024’s Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare from Lionsgate.

— Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2026
In 2003, Kim Cattrall bared her abs and muscled lower back in a glittering naked dress.

— Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of muscle

Noun

There still will be scammers, extortionists, extremists and others who try to take advantage of teens and adults.

— Larry Magid, Mercury News, 26 Aug. 2026
As bomb technicians struggled to disarm the explosive, the FBI raced against the clock to deliver the ransom while simultaneously hunting the extortionists.

— Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of extortionist

Verb

By filing that brief handwritten petition, Kohberger is putting himself in the category of many criminal defendants before him, who have argued after the fact that their guilty pleas were coerced.

— Mark Guarino, ABC News, 17 Sep. 2026
Williams also asked Saab whether anyone had threatened or coerced him into changing his plea.

— Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of coerce

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racketed

racketeer

racketeered

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Style

“Racketeer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/racketeer. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of racketeer

noun

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

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