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

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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

See Examples For:

abduction

Authorities have not linked the current abduction to any group.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

She joined the San Joaquin County district attorney’s office in 2007, eventually working in the domestic violence and child abduction units.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

A member of the group which detained Tice has also claimed the abduction was sanctioned by Syria's leader at the time, President Bashar al-Assad.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Thor for thunderstorms, shrieking Sirens to explain shipwrecks, the abduction of Persephone the reason behind the bleakness of winter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

We didn’t know when the abduction would take place, but one thing we felt convinced about was that the woods would come into it.

From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro

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Related Words

• kidnapping
• rape
• seizure
• theft

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