as in kidnapping
to carry away (as a person) forcibly or unlawfully
the gangsters planned to abduct the industrialist's young daughter and demand a huge ransom from her family
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Recent Examples of abducting
Maternal Instinct lays out how Parker moved from a web of odd, though ultimately harmless lies about the fake pregnancy to killing her pregnant friend (Simmons-Hancock), and abducting her unborn fetus to present to her then-boyfriend, Wade Griffin, as their own.
—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 June 2026
Mexican law enforcement arrested the Los Angeles man accused of killing his wife and abducting their child before fleeing the country.
—
Matthew Rodriguez,
CBS News,
16 June 2026
Smith is accused of abducting and assaulting an unnamed female victim near the 5400 block of North San Joaquin, a dirt road flanked by small homes and a horse barn about a 15-minute drive west of Guthrie's home.
—
Michael Ruiz,
FOXNews.com,
10 June 2026
Investigators say his criminal history shows he had been arrested for abducting a young woman a year ago but was released on bail of $3,500 after 20 days.
—
ABC News,
3 June 2026
Investigators say his criminal history shows he had been arrested for abducting a young woman a year ago but was released on $3,500 bail after 20 days.
—
Isabel Debre,
Los Angeles Times,
3 June 2026
Tension reaches a breaking point when the children vanish, abducting the town’s youth, including Daniel’s stepdaughter.
—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
22 May 2026
Since 1971, Robert Hansen, an unassuming 44-year-old Anchorage bakery owner and married father of two, had been abducting dancers and prostitutes, flying them to the backcountry on his Piper Super Cub plane and then releasing them and—armed with a gun and hunting knife—stalking them like wild prey.
—
Johnny Dodd,
PEOPLE,
22 May 2026
Emmanuel Fremiet won a medal from the Paris Salon in 1887 for his large sculpture of a gorilla abducting a white woman.
—
Matthew Wills,
JSTOR Daily,
18 May 2026
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 June 2026
Mexican law enforcement arrested the Los Angeles man accused of killing his wife and abducting their child before fleeing the country.
—
Matthew Rodriguez,
CBS News,
16 June 2026
Smith is accused of abducting and assaulting an unnamed female victim near the 5400 block of North San Joaquin, a dirt road flanked by small homes and a horse barn about a 15-minute drive west of Guthrie's home.
—
Michael Ruiz,
FOXNews.com,
10 June 2026
Investigators say his criminal history shows he had been arrested for abducting a young woman a year ago but was released on bail of $3,500 after 20 days.
—
ABC News,
3 June 2026
Investigators say his criminal history shows he had been arrested for abducting a young woman a year ago but was released on $3,500 bail after 20 days.
—
Isabel Debre,
Los Angeles Times,
3 June 2026
Tension reaches a breaking point when the children vanish, abducting the town’s youth, including Daniel’s stepdaughter.
—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
22 May 2026
Since 1971, Robert Hansen, an unassuming 44-year-old Anchorage bakery owner and married father of two, had been abducting dancers and prostitutes, flying them to the backcountry on his Piper Super Cub plane and then releasing them and—armed with a gun and hunting knife—stalking them like wild prey.
—
Johnny Dodd,
PEOPLE,
22 May 2026
Emmanuel Fremiet won a medal from the Paris Salon in 1887 for his large sculpture of a gorilla abducting a white woman.
—
Matthew Wills,
JSTOR Daily,
18 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abducting
kidnapping
Verb
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And the surviving cartel scoundrels take the parting shot by kidnapping beloved Carter, putting a hood on him and taking the boy off.
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One of the other six defendants, Emily Motyka, pleaded guilty to murder and kidnapping charges earlier this month, MacBride said in a June 2 statement.
Cite this Entry
“Abducting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abducting. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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