extortion
/ɪkˈstɔːʃ(ə)n
/ /ɛkˈstɔːʃ(ə)n/noun [mass noun]
The practice of obtaining something, especially money, through force or threats: he used bribery and extortion to build himself a huge, art-stuffed mansion [as modifier]: extortion rackets...
- Brute force, extortion, and bribery are not a policy, they are the last refuge of a mafioso.
- At the least, we can ask that American citizens not pay extortion money to enemy governments in a time of war.
- The underworld is once again making extortion threats to Bollywood figures.
Synonyms
demanding money with menaces, exaction, extraction, blackmail;
North American shakedown
Derivatives
extortioner
/ /ɛkˈstɔːʃ(ə)nə / noun ...- It's all about cost of living, and husbandry, and sustainability, and not spending the rest of your life - as an individual or a business - paying blackmail to extortioners.
- Mr Prasad, however, refused to name the extortioners.
- According to the reports, many of these extortioners are recently released prisoners.
Origin
Middle English: from late Latin extortio(n-), from Latin extorquere 'wrest' (see extort).