abduct

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /æbˈdʌkt/ UK /æbˈdʌkt/ See IPA manual

verb

Meanings

1

verb
to carry off a person by force or deception

Masked men tried to abduct the diplomat outside the embassy.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to carry off a person by... kidnap seize snatchcarry offcapturespirit away

Opposites

release free liberate return

Word family

Derived forms abduction abductorabductee

Related forms adductduct conduct

Etymology

From Latin abductus, past participle of abdūcere ('to lead away'), from ab- ('away') + dūcere ('to lead').

abdūcere Latin dūcere Latin *dewk- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

# abduct

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** æbˈdʌkt
**IPA (UK):** æbˈdʌkt

## Meanings
1. to carry off a person by force or deception

## Examples
- Masked men tried to abduct the diplomat outside the embassy.

## Synonyms
- kidnap
- seize
- snatch
- carry off
- capture
- spirit away

## Antonyms
- release
- free
- liberate
- return

## Derived Forms
- abduction
- abductor
- abductee

## Related Forms
- adduct
- duct
- conduct

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: abdūcere
- Root: dūcere
- Root: *dewk-
- Affix: ab- - away from

## Etymology
From Latin abductus, past participle of abdūcere ('to lead away'), from ab- ('away') + dūcere ('to lead').

## AI Etymology
Abduct is from Latin abductus, past participle of abdūcere ('to lead away'), from ab- ('away') + dūcere ('to lead'). Important recorded forms include abdūcere (Latin), dūcere (Latin), and *dewk- (Proto-Indo-European). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers to carry off a person by force or deception. The wider family includes derived forms such as abduction, abductor, and abductee and related words such as adduct, duct, and conduct.

## Topics
- People & Society

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abduct

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