abductee
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of abductee
Explanation
An abductee is someone who has been kidnapped. Sometimes, a kidnapper will demand large amounts of money in exchange for the return of an abductee. An abductee is the victim of a crime, a person who has been seized and taken away against their will. If you take your neighbor's pet rabbit without asking and hide it in your room, that poor bunny is an abductee. The word comes from abduct, "to kidnap," and the -ee ending, which signifies "person to whom the verb's action is done."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A spokesperson called on the prime minister "to stop the war until the return of the last abductee", adding: "This is the most urgent and important national task."
From BBC • May 8, 2025
In her first ever appearance on “SNL” — insane, we know — Streep appeared as Colleen Sr., the mother of alien abductee Colleen Rafferty, Kate McKinnon’s recurring character.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 17, 2025
Her comic chops with characters like alien abductee Miss Rafferty frequently drove castmates and guest hosts to lose it live on air.
From Seattle Times • May 21, 2022
In 1996 I was invited to the clinic of the Harvard psychiatrist John Mack to witness the regression hypnosis of a self-professed alien abductee.
From New York Times • Jun. 25, 2021
Given the importance of the abductee issue and Japan’s interest in the elimination of North Korea’s weapons program, an Abe-Kim summit “could be of substantial assistance,” Bolton said.
From Washington Post • May 25, 2019
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
