as in kidnapped
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as in captured
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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Recent Examples of abducted
ABC News, 27 Apr. 2026
Savannah Guthrie is making a last-minute plea for help in finding her abducted mother, Nancy Guthrie.
—Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 9 Feb. 2026
According to a criminal complaint, in December, the mother of the abducted girl had an unusual encounter with Bragg on Facebook.
—Wcco Staff, CBS News, 3 Feb. 2026
In response to Amber's heart-wrenching case, a Texas mom named Diana Simone had the idea to create an emergency system for abducted children, similar to a weather or civil defense alert.
—Emily Krauser, PEOPLE, 13 Jan. 2026
The 38 abducted worshipers were freed almost a week later.
—Rachel Wolf , Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 26 Dec. 2025
Based on the Arsène Lupin character Maurice Leblanc created in the early 1900s, the series initially followed Assane’s revenge mission against the Pellegrini family who wronged his father, before morphing into a search for his abducted son and then on to his mission to steal the Black Pearl.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 25 Dec. 2025
The remaining 130 schoolchildren kidnapped by gunmen from a Catholic school in Nigeria’s north-central Niger State in November have been released, a presidential spokesman said on Sunday, confirming that all abducted pupils are now free.
—Mohammed Tawfeeq, CNN Money, 21 Dec. 2025
Cheery and resolute Vault 33 dweller Lucy (Ella Purnell) left her underground home to find her abducted father, Hank (Kyle MacLachlan), and in doing so realized the difficulty of living by the golden rule in a world that’s defined by ruthlessness and want.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 16 Dec. 2025
ABC News, 1 May 2026
The suspect, Jefferson Lewis, allegedly abducted the girl at an Indigenous community near Alice Springs in the central Australia over the weekend.
—Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
In The Second Lady, when America’s beloved First Lady is abducted and replaced by a Russian double, both women must fight to survive—one navigating captivity in Siberia, the other infiltrating the White House to sabotage NATO during the G7 Summit.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 30 Apr. 2026
It is generally agreed that Helen, the woman of matchless beauty who indirectly caused the Trojan War by eloping with (or being abducted by) the Trojan prince Paris, belongs to the realm of fiction and not fact, as do Achilles and other mythological figures.
—Gitanjali Roy, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Apr. 2026
One of those people is Ed Smart, the father of Elizabeth Smart, who was abducted at age 14 and held for nine months before being rescued in 2003.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 27 Apr. 2026
So, prosecutors suggested that Theresa must have been with someone else right before she was abducted by Kogut, Halstead and Restivo.
—Mary Murphy, CBS News, 26 Apr. 2026
Set in a Barcelona shaped by housing crisis, the film follows a delivery worker on the verge of eviction who must find her missing flatmate-landlord after she is abducted by a criminal group tied to the city’s property market.
—Emiliano De Pablos, Variety, 23 Apr. 2026
Video evidence shows Horner abducted the 7-year-old while delivering a package to her home.
—Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Apr. 2026
Adjective
The statement did not say how old the abducted schoolchildren are but the term ‘pupil’ in Nigeria usually refers to someone in kindergarten or primary school, typically covering ages up to 12.
—ABC News, 27 Apr. 2026
Savannah Guthrie is making a last-minute plea for help in finding her abducted mother, Nancy Guthrie.
—Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 9 Feb. 2026
According to a criminal complaint, in December, the mother of the abducted girl had an unusual encounter with Bragg on Facebook.
—Wcco Staff, CBS News, 3 Feb. 2026
In response to Amber's heart-wrenching case, a Texas mom named Diana Simone had the idea to create an emergency system for abducted children, similar to a weather or civil defense alert.
—Emily Krauser, PEOPLE, 13 Jan. 2026
The 38 abducted worshipers were freed almost a week later.
—Rachel Wolf , Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 26 Dec. 2025
Based on the Arsène Lupin character Maurice Leblanc created in the early 1900s, the series initially followed Assane’s revenge mission against the Pellegrini family who wronged his father, before morphing into a search for his abducted son and then on to his mission to steal the Black Pearl.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 25 Dec. 2025
The remaining 130 schoolchildren kidnapped by gunmen from a Catholic school in Nigeria’s north-central Niger State in November have been released, a presidential spokesman said on Sunday, confirming that all abducted pupils are now free.
—Mohammed Tawfeeq, CNN Money, 21 Dec. 2025
Cheery and resolute Vault 33 dweller Lucy (Ella Purnell) left her underground home to find her abducted father, Hank (Kyle MacLachlan), and in doing so realized the difficulty of living by the golden rule in a world that’s defined by ruthlessness and want.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 16 Dec. 2025
Verb
The suspect, Jefferson Lewis, allegedly abducted the girl at an Indigenous community near Alice Springs in the central Australia at the weekend.
—ABC News, 1 May 2026
The suspect, Jefferson Lewis, allegedly abducted the girl at an Indigenous community near Alice Springs in the central Australia over the weekend.
—Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
In The Second Lady, when America’s beloved First Lady is abducted and replaced by a Russian double, both women must fight to survive—one navigating captivity in Siberia, the other infiltrating the White House to sabotage NATO during the G7 Summit.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 30 Apr. 2026
It is generally agreed that Helen, the woman of matchless beauty who indirectly caused the Trojan War by eloping with (or being abducted by) the Trojan prince Paris, belongs to the realm of fiction and not fact, as do Achilles and other mythological figures.
—Gitanjali Roy, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Apr. 2026
One of those people is Ed Smart, the father of Elizabeth Smart, who was abducted at age 14 and held for nine months before being rescued in 2003.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 27 Apr. 2026
So, prosecutors suggested that Theresa must have been with someone else right before she was abducted by Kogut, Halstead and Restivo.
—Mary Murphy, CBS News, 26 Apr. 2026
Set in a Barcelona shaped by housing crisis, the film follows a delivery worker on the verge of eviction who must find her missing flatmate-landlord after she is abducted by a criminal group tied to the city’s property market.
—Emiliano De Pablos, Variety, 23 Apr. 2026
Video evidence shows Horner abducted the 7-year-old while delivering a package to her home.
—Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abducted
kidnapped
Verb
-
All of it led Clemente to theorize that Guthrie was kidnapped by just one person.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Investigators subsequently learned she had been kidnapped at knifepoint and taken from her bedroom by Brian David Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee.—
Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Abducted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abducted. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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