abduction

¹ American  

[ab-duhk-shuhn] / æbˈdʌk ʃən /

noun

1. act of abducting.

2. the state of being abducted.

3. Law. the illegal carrying or enticing away of a person, especially by interfering with a relationship, such as the taking of a child from their parent.

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abduction ² American  

[ab-duhk-shuhn] / æbˈdʌk ʃən /

noun

Logic.

1. a syllogism whose major premise is certain but whose minor premise is probable.

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abduction British  

/ æbˈdʌkʃən /

noun

1. the act of taking someone away by force or cunning; kidnapping

2. the action of certain muscles in pulling a leg, arm, etc away from the median axis of the body

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Etymology

Origin of abduction¹

First recorded in 1620–30; abduct + -ion

Origin of abduction²

First recorded in 1690–1700, abduction is from the New Latin word abductiōn- (stem of abductiō; translation of Greek apagōgḗ ). See abduct, -ion

Explanation

If you're the victim of an abduction, you've been carried away against your will — kidnapped. The word comes from Latin ab "away" + ducere "lead." Abduction is also when you move your arm or leg away from your midline. "The Abduction from the Seraglio" is the English title of a famous Mozart opera, in which a nobleman tries to rescue his betrothed, who has been captured — abducted — by pirates and sold into a pasha's harem, or seraglio. At the end of the opera, the pasha is overwhelmed with mercy and frees everyone and sends them home. So there really isn’t an abduction from the seraglio; the pasha lets everybody go.

Example Sentences

She petitioned for help under the Hague Convention, prompting action from the Orange County District Attorney’s Child Abduction Unit, which located the child.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2025

The Pet Abduction Bill is due to receive Royal Assent later, with the law due to come into force three months later.

From BBC • May 24, 2024

In the film “Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara,” a representative of Pope Pius IX arrives at a Jewish family’s home in Bologna, Italy, on a June night in 1858.

From New York Times • May 23, 2024

Matthew Bowman’s The Abduction of Betty and Barney Hill: Alien Encounters, Civil Rights, and the New Age in America offers the best and most comprehensive attempt yet to answer these and other questions.

From Slate • Sep. 11, 2023

Natalie, silently returning in Lady Winwood's company to Muswell Hill; and Launce, cursing the law of Abduction as he roams the streets—little think that the ground is already mined under their feet.

From Miss or Mrs? by Collins, Wilkie

Related Words

• kidnapping
• rape
• seizure
• theft