as in gangster
a person who gets money from another by using force or threats
tortured by a gang of extortionists into revealing the combination for the money vault
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extortionist
Noun
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The Japanese criminal organization puts a hit out on Ju-yeong, and gangsters flock to the city to take him out.—
Kayti Burt,
Time,
21 July 2025 -
The audio clip has been used by Venezuelans to ridicule the widespread suggestion that everyone from the country is a gangster.—
Melissa Sanchez,
ProPublica,
18 July 2025
Noun
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The 18th Street thugs then attacked a second victim with large wooden planks, causing lacerations that required sutures.—
Michael Dorgan,
FOXNews.com,
10 July 2025
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Plus, she wasn’t forced to live in a remote jungle compound surrounded by gun-toting thugs, because no one was coming after her.—
Sam Kelly,
Time,
8 July 2025
Noun
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In a police photograph, Lansky stood next to racketeer Charles (Lucky) Luciano.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
3 Apr. 2025
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In the other corner: Vito Genovese, Costello’s childhood friend and fellow racketeer, who had to leave town long ago because of a thing, and has now come home to resume his place in the Mafia hierarchy.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
20 Mar. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Extortionist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extortionist. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
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