Extort
[ɪk'stɔːt;ek-] or [ɪk'stɔrt]
Definition
(verb.) get or cause to become in a difficult or laborious manner.
(verb.) obtain by coercion or intimidation; 'They extorted money from the executive by threatening to reveal his past to the company boss'; 'They squeezed money from the owner of the business by threatening him'.
(verb.) obtain through intimidation.
Checked by Jessie--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) To wrest from an unwilling person by physical force, menace, duress, torture, or any undue or illegal exercise of power or ingenuity; to wrench away (from); to tear away; to wring (from); to exact; as, to extort contributions from the vanquished; to extort confessions of guilt; to extort a promise; to extort payment of a debt.
(v. t.) To get by the offense of extortion. See Extortion, 2.
(v. i.) To practice extortion.
(p. p. & a.) Extorted.
Typed by Leigh
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. Exact, wrest, wring, wrench, force, get by force.
Typist: Winfred
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Wring, despoil, fleece, exact, express, squeeze_out, wrench, wrest, extract
ANT:Coax, wheedle, cajole, cheat
Inputed by Enoch
Definition
v.t. to gain or draw from by compulsion or violence.—p.adj. wrongfully obtained.—adj. Extors′ive serving or tending to extort.—adv. Extors′ively.—n. Extor′tion illegal or oppressive exaction: that which is extorted.—adjs. Extor′tionary pertaining to or implying extortion; Extor′tionāte oppressive.—ns. Extor′tioner one who practises extortion; Extor′tionist.—adj. Extor′tionous.
Checked by Janice
Examples
- She did at last extort from her father an acknowledgment that the horses were engaged. Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
- I do refuse it, I replied; and no torture shall ever extort a consent from me. Mary Shelley. Frankenstein_Or_The Modern Prometheus.
- They held meetings, they made speeches, they got up petitions to extort this boon; on what terms it was made they cared not. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- It's a vile attempt to extort money,' said Mr. Pickwick. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- Thank you: I shall do: I have no broken bones,--only a sprain; and again he stood up and tried his foot, but the result extorted an involuntary Ugh! Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- I was afterwards convinced (and so was Ada) that from the ill-conditioned eldest child, these words extorted a sharp yell. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- By a feudal law, the vassal could not alienate without the consent of his superior, who generally extorted a fine or composition on granting it. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- It is only your generosity that has extorted my secret. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- Twice, for one minute, they let me rest while they extorted bucksheesh, and then continued their maniac flight up the Pyramid. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Both gentlemen had a glance at Fanny, to see if a word of accordant praise could be extorted from her; yet both feeling that it could not be. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- It was some time, however, before a smile could be extorted from Jane. Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
Inputed by Annie