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
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Recent Examples of extortionist
Several customers, a Miami-Dade judge and now the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services say Thompson’s a fraudulent, bait-and-switch extortionist.
—
David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 6 Feb. 2026
Nike depicts Total90 as an extortionist.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 2 Dec. 2025
The place is the Savin Bar + Kitchen, in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, where immediately inside the front door, patrons are greeted by a larger-than-life framed mugshot of Bulger — the mob-boss, murderer, bank robber, drug dealer and extortionist — peering cooly out from under his fedora.
—Tovia Smith, NPR, 24 Oct. 2025
Although the murderers are often characters with redeeming qualities, Nolan Hurst (David Cross) is more sympathetic than most, and his killing of toy store manager/part-time extortionist Patrick Palmer (Drew Seltzer) is an unpremeditated act of desperation, not the settling of a score.
—Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2025
These kinds of sweeping outages are typically the result either of ransomware attacks, where online extortionists paralyse corporate networks in the hope of payment, or deliberate sabotage.
—Reuters, NBC news, 20 Sep. 2025
These kinds of sweeping outages are typically the result either of ransomware attacks, where online extortionists paralyze corporate networks in the hope of payment, or deliberate digital sabotage.
—Reuters, CNN Money, 20 Sep. 2025
Combined with other high-tech attacks, such as deepfake phishing attempts, AI agents will create new and potentially highly problematic avenues of attack for hackers, fraudsters and extortionists.
—Bernard Marr, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
An agent approached Donna in Miami posing as an extortionist tied to the killers.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 23 Aug. 2025
David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 6 Feb. 2026
Nike depicts Total90 as an extortionist.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 2 Dec. 2025
The place is the Savin Bar + Kitchen, in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, where immediately inside the front door, patrons are greeted by a larger-than-life framed mugshot of Bulger — the mob-boss, murderer, bank robber, drug dealer and extortionist — peering cooly out from under his fedora.
—Tovia Smith, NPR, 24 Oct. 2025
Although the murderers are often characters with redeeming qualities, Nolan Hurst (David Cross) is more sympathetic than most, and his killing of toy store manager/part-time extortionist Patrick Palmer (Drew Seltzer) is an unpremeditated act of desperation, not the settling of a score.
—Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2025
These kinds of sweeping outages are typically the result either of ransomware attacks, where online extortionists paralyse corporate networks in the hope of payment, or deliberate sabotage.
—Reuters, NBC news, 20 Sep. 2025
These kinds of sweeping outages are typically the result either of ransomware attacks, where online extortionists paralyze corporate networks in the hope of payment, or deliberate digital sabotage.
—Reuters, CNN Money, 20 Sep. 2025
Combined with other high-tech attacks, such as deepfake phishing attempts, AI agents will create new and potentially highly problematic avenues of attack for hackers, fraudsters and extortionists.
—Bernard Marr, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
An agent approached Donna in Miami posing as an extortionist tied to the killers.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 23 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extortionist
Noun
-
Gaetano Milano, a sharpshooting young gangster who renounced the mafia and experienced a religious rebirth after gunning down one of New England’s most ruthless mob bosses, died early this week.—
Edmund H. Mahony,
Hartford Courant,
12 Feb. 2026
-
In the film, the twins return from Chicago in the early 1930s, which inspired Carter to turn to photos of Chicago gangsters from the era.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
And Davis’s integrity puts him at odds with his longtime fence, Money (Nick Nolte, nice and growly as ever), who responds by enlisting the services of Ormon (Barry Keoghan), a platinum-blond thug on a motorcycle.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
13 Feb. 2026
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The last major character is Ormon (Barry Keoghan), the thug hired by Nolte’s Money to terrorize his former protégé, and to make sure that any robbery ends with the money in the correct pocket (his).—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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In Season 2, eager to take on another big undercover case, Charles Nieuwendyk (Danson) gets his chance when a mysterious blackmailer targets Wheeler College president Jack Berenger (Max Greenfield), who enlists Charles to go undercover as a professor.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
3 Feb. 2026
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Although the threat of death was everywhere in this show, the list of actual deaths is relatively short and the majority had to do with the anonymous blackmailer and the secrets and lies built around Alison’s fake death.—
Catherine Mhloyi,
Them.,
29 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
In September 2023, the group was charged with violation of the racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations act, commonly known as a RICO case.—
Irene Wright,
USA Today,
3 Feb. 2026
-
When Ferrara was starting out, private investment in low-budget films was spurred by tax loopholes, a way for doctors, dentists, and racketeers to get rid of extra cash that would otherwise wind up in Uncle Sam’s grubby mitts.—
Nick Pinkerton,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Extortionist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extortionist. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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