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
And the other thread would involve Rose of Sharon, a character from The Mural, who as a young girl is kidnapped in Mexico City and rescued by a famed lucha libre wrestler.
—
Shawna Seed, Dallas Morning News, 11 Feb. 2026
The first big change in the script was to alter the gender of the lead character (Emma Stone), who is kidnapped by conspiracy theorists (Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis).
—Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 11 Feb. 2026
Nancy Guthrie was kidnapped from her house somewhere between the night of January 31 and the morning of February 1st, when her family reported her missing.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 11 Feb. 2026
Federal prosecutors accused 34-year-old Dennis Williams of trafficking five young victims, including a 15-year-old girl, and kidnapping two of them.
—Todd Feurer, CBS News, 10 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for kidnap
Shawna Seed, Dallas Morning News, 11 Feb. 2026
The first big change in the script was to alter the gender of the lead character (Emma Stone), who is kidnapped by conspiracy theorists (Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis).
—Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 11 Feb. 2026
Nancy Guthrie was kidnapped from her house somewhere between the night of January 31 and the morning of February 1st, when her family reported her missing.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 11 Feb. 2026
Federal prosecutors accused 34-year-old Dennis Williams of trafficking five young victims, including a 15-year-old girl, and kidnapping two of them.
—Todd Feurer, CBS News, 10 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for kidnap
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kidnap
abduct
Verb
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Authorities got a huge break on Tuesday with the release of footage of an armed individual wearing a balaclava, gloves and a backpack approaching the front door of Guthrie’s Arizona home and tampering with a Nest camera the morning she was abducted.—
Hannah Fry,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
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Guthrie disappeared sometime between the night of January 31st and the morning of February 1st, and police have confirmed she was abducted and did not just wander off.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Kidnap.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kidnap. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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