ABDUCTING Synonyms: 26 Similar and Opposite Words

abducting

verb

present participle of abduct

as in kidnapping

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

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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 abducting Clinton retaliates by abducting Terrance and Phillip and threatening to execute them, signaling his intent to invade Canada. — Damon Wise, Deadline, 13 Aug. 2026 Working off a few vague details, Bret begins to imagine a link between Robert and a serial killer known as the Trawler, who has been abducting and torturing young women around Los Angeles. — Leo Lasdun, New Yorker, 5 Aug. 2026 The father and son are accused of abducting two federal wildlife biologists at gunpoint July 16 at Gumboot Lake Campground in Siskiyou County and holding them during a 15-hour standoff. — Ruyuan Li. Story Produced With Ai Assistance, Sacbee.com, 3 Aug. 2026 Thornton, who is accused of abducting Sabastian, is described as being 5 feet 1 inch tall. — Latoya Gayle, PEOPLE, 25 July 2026 Party leaders, Wangchuk’s wife and supporters accuse authorities of ‘abducting’ him to stifle a growing protest movement, as police flood main protest with barricades and paramilitary forces. — Aijaz Hussain, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2026 Heinrich confessed to abducting, assaulting and killing Jacob. — Megan Fahrney, ABC News, 17 July 2026 Some have theorized that the area is a hotbed of alien activity, positing that these extraterrestrial beings are abducting humans for study. — Andrea Romano, Travel + Leisure, 15 July 2026 Maternal Instinct lays out how Parker moved from a web of odd, though ultimately harmless lies about the fake pregnancy to killing her pregnant friend (Simmons-Hancock), and abducting her unborn fetus to present to her then-boyfriend, Wade Griffin, as their own. — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 23 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for abducting

kidnapping

Verb

Tomlin, Fonda and Parton played a trio of secretaries who took revenge on their sexist boss by kidnapping him and enacting changes in the workplace in his name.

— Lori A Bashian, FOXNews.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Its multiversal premise, which involves a man kidnapping a version of himself from another world, can be hard to wrap your head around, and as the first season went on, things only got harder to follow.

— Andrew Webster, The Verge, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of kidnapping

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abductees

abducting

abduction

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“Abducting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abducting. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of abducting

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