as in to kidnap
to carry away (as a person) forcibly or unlawfully the gangsters planned to abduct the industrialist's young daughter and demand a huge ransom from her family

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of abduct Kfir was 9 months old at the time, and was the youngest hostage abducted on Oct. 7, 2023. Npr Staff, NPR, 19 Jan. 2025 Oded was abducted during the Oct. 7 attack on his kibbutz, where he was injured while clinging to the door of a safe room as militants forced their way inside. Sean Nevin, NBC News, 19 Jan. 2025 They were reunited with their families for the first time in 471 days − since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and abducting 251 more back to the tiny coastal territory Hamas controls. Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, 19 Jan. 2025 The checkpoint — once a place of corrupt border guards and officials who regularly expected bribes at best, or at worst abducted and disappeared Syrians entirely — was unmanned. Alia Malek, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for abduct 

Thesaurus Entries Near abduct

Cite this Entry

“Abduct.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abduct. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on abduct

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!