extortion

[ ik-stawr-shuhn ]
See synonyms for extortion on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an act or instance of extorting.

  2. Law. the crime of obtaining money or some other thing of value by the abuse of one's office or authority.

  1. oppressive or illegal exaction, as of excessive price or interest: the extortions of usurers.

  2. anything extorted.

Origin of extortion

1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English extorcion, from Late Latin extortiōn-, stem of extortiō, literally, “a twisting away,” from extort(us) + -iō noun suffix; see extort, -ion

Other words for extortion

Other words from extortion

  • non·ex·tor·tion, noun

Words that may be confused with extortion

Words Nearby extortion

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How to use extortion in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for extortion

extortion

/ (ɪkˈstɔːʃən) /


noun
  1. the act of securing money, favours, etc by intimidation or violence; blackmail

Derived forms of extortion

  • extortioner or extortionist, noun

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