abduct C2+ Topic:People & Society US /æbˈdʌkt/ UK /æbˈdʌkt/ See IPA manual 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... kidnapseizesnatchcarry offcapturespirit away ↔ Opposites releasefreeliberatereturn Word family Derived forms abductionabductorabductee Related forms adductductconduct Etymology AI details 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 External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # 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 markdown