as in to abduct
to carry away (as a person) forcibly or unlawfully
the child of the wealthy industrialist was kidnapped and held for ransom
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Recent Examples of kidnap
Pedro Hernandez was sentenced in 2017 to 25 years in prison after confessing to kidnapping and killing Patz in New York City, in what is one of the nation's most notorious child disappearance cases.
—
Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 22 July 2025
Their story opens on October 6, 1978, when a group of men kidnapped Patricia Roisinblit, a twenty-five-year-old former medical student, and her fifteen-month-old daughter, Mariana, from their apartment in Buenos Aires.
—Graciela Mochkofsky, New Yorker, 31 July 2025
Advertisement Advertisement In the movie, Papa Smurf (John Goodman) is kidnapped, and No Name Smurf and the one female Smurfette (Rihanna) are on a mission to rescue him from the clutches of evil wizards.
—Olivia B. Waxman, Time, 18 July 2025
As the show went on, that family grew to include Carter's new friends, surprise siblings, and eventually even the woman who kidnapped her.
—Ew Staff Published, EW.com, 16 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for kidnap
Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 22 July 2025
Their story opens on October 6, 1978, when a group of men kidnapped Patricia Roisinblit, a twenty-five-year-old former medical student, and her fifteen-month-old daughter, Mariana, from their apartment in Buenos Aires.
—Graciela Mochkofsky, New Yorker, 31 July 2025
Advertisement Advertisement In the movie, Papa Smurf (John Goodman) is kidnapped, and No Name Smurf and the one female Smurfette (Rihanna) are on a mission to rescue him from the clutches of evil wizards.
—Olivia B. Waxman, Time, 18 July 2025
As the show went on, that family grew to include Carter's new friends, surprise siblings, and eventually even the woman who kidnapped her.
—Ew Staff Published, EW.com, 16 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for kidnap
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kidnap
abduct
Verb
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Jessica Lynn Lopez is one of three people convicted in the 2012 slaying of Brittany Killgore, who prosecutors said was murdered after she was lured by one of the defendants, then abducted.—
City News Service,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 July 2025
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Jamal, known as Baby J, was abducted at gunpoint and found the following day, less than 24 hours after an Amber Alert was issued and Milwaukee police designated the child critically missing.—
Ariela Lopez,
jsonline.com,
21 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Kidnap.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kidnap. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
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