as in cheating
the exaction of a grossly excessive charge for goods or services
six dollars for a cup of coffee is just plain extortion
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Recent Examples of extortion
Baldoni later responded with his own $400 million lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds, and their publicist Leslie Sloane, claiming defamation, civil extortion, invasion of privacy, and breach of contract.
—
Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Jan. 2026
Many civilians have taken to social media to report phone inspections, which sometimes lead to intimidation, extortion and even detention.
—Cnn, CNN Money, 27 Jan. 2026
In a 2025 countersuit, Baldoni accused Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, of defamation and extortion.
—Uwa Ede-Osifo, Dallas Morning News, 27 Jan. 2026
According to multiple sources cited by BleepingComputer, the ShinyHunters hacking group is behind the extortion attempt.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for extortion
Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Jan. 2026
Many civilians have taken to social media to report phone inspections, which sometimes lead to intimidation, extortion and even detention.
—Cnn, CNN Money, 27 Jan. 2026
In a 2025 countersuit, Baldoni accused Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, of defamation and extortion.
—Uwa Ede-Osifo, Dallas Morning News, 27 Jan. 2026
According to multiple sources cited by BleepingComputer, the ShinyHunters hacking group is behind the extortion attempt.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for extortion
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extortion
Noun
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An honor council, comprised of administrators, teachers, and members of the student government, would sit in judgment on cases of alleged cheating.—
Nell Freudenberger,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
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In the wake of the cheating, FIS has modified its rules and brought in a coordinator to oversee screening of gear and hired former Austrian ski jumper Mathias Hafele to work as equipment expert.—
Brian Melley,
Chicago Tribune,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Soon after, Bradley stumbles on Zuri’s body and confronts Linda, resulting in a brutal fight that includes stabbing, scalp ripping, and some really upsetting eye gouging.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
30 Jan. 2026
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In the past, Amazon has suppressed easily accessible buy buttons to prevent price-gouging or pressure brands to lower prices to match pricing on their own website or competitors.—
Jacqueline Munis,
Fortune,
20 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Three games into his Colorado Rapids tenure, the club paying $125,000 in General Allocation Money — less than the going price of an international roster slot — is looking like highway robbery.—
Braidon Nourse,
Denver Post,
14 Sep. 2025
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This was a dangerous situation and was literally highway robbery.—
U T Readers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
21 July 2025
Noun
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While that’s substantial, even a much larger overcharging estimate on the part of PBMs would be a far cry from the $38 trillion national debt.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
6 Jan. 2026
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Jeevarajan’s team also subjected batteries to overcharging and to electrical shorts.—
Andrew Moseman,
IEEE Spectrum,
22 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Extortion.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extortion. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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