KIDNAPPED Synonyms: 50 Similar and Opposite Words

kidnapped 1 of 2

adjective

variants also kidnaped

as in abducted

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kidnapped

2 of 2

verb

variants also kidnaped

past tense of kidnap

as in captured

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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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 kidnapped

Verb

In 1981 Menchú fled to Mexico after her family was killed—her father was accused of guerrilla activities and died in a fire while protesting, her brother was kidnapped, tortured, and killed, and her mother was kidnapped, raped, and mutilated. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Oct. 2026 Highsmith, then 53, had no idea she’d been kidnapped or that her family had spent decades searching for her. — Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Oct. 2026 When her sister was kidnapped and murdered by her ex-husband in 2020, Banda retreated from religion. — Jesse Bedayn, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2026 The man on the line claimed a Mexican drug cartel had kidnapped her 37-year-old daughter. — Muskaan Arshad, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2026 For relative newcomer Marwan Waleed, that means tense body movements and a downcast tilt to his head, reflecting the psychological toll of having been trapped in a locked van when kidnapped in Libya. — Jay Weissberg, Variety, 23 Oct. 2026 More than 230 people were kidnapped and more than 1,000 females were raped. — Widlore Mérancourt, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026 The toys were not purloined, kidnapped, auctioned by Sotheby's or flipped by greedy collectors on eBay. — Steve Hendrix The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 21 Oct. 2026 According to multiple reports, ransom notes were sent to local media outlets just days after she was kidnapped from her Arizona home. — Allison Degrushe, StyleCaster, 19 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for kidnapped

Adjective

As with the previous hour, which opened with the Russian assassins stalking River and Sid at the bowling alley, this episode picks up at the suspense cliffhanger of these same assassins peeling off with an abducted Sid in their car.

— Scott Tobias, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2026
An impact campaign will accompany the film’s theatrical release, with partners including the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC), Bring Kids Back UA (President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s initiative to return abducted children) and War Child International.

— Matthew Carey, Deadline, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of abducted

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kidnap

kidnapped

kidnappee

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“Kidnapped.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kidnapped. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of kidnapped

adjective

verb

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