extort
C1Formal, Legal
Definition
Meaning
to illegally or wrongfully obtain something (money, a confession, information) from someone by using force, threats, or intimidation.
to obtain something (e.g., a promise, a meaning) by persistent pressure or mental force.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Always implies wrongful or illegal use of pressure; the obtained benefit is always for the extorter. Cannot be used neutrally for 'obtain'.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant lexical differences. The term is used identically in legal and general contexts.
Connotations
Strongly associated with crime (extortion) and corruption in both varieties.
Frequency
Slightly more frequent in American English due to higher media coverage of legal/crime stories.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
extort something from someoneextort someone for somethingVocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “to extort a pound of flesh (from someone)”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Rarely used, except in contexts of corporate crime or corruption.
Academic
Used in law, criminology, political science, and ethics discussions.
Everyday
Used in news reports about crime or in dramatic descriptions of coercion.
Technical
Specific legal term: 'the offence of extortion'.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The gangsters were convicted for attempting to extort a large sum from the businessman.
- The officer was accused of extorting a false confession from the suspect.
American English
- The hacker tried to extort the company by threatening to release its data.
- They were found guilty of extorting money from local shopkeepers for 'protection'.
adverb
British English
- N/A (No standard adverbial form derived from 'extort'.)
American English
- N/A (No standard adverbial form derived from 'extort'.)
adjective
British English
- N/A (The adjective form 'extortive' is obsolete and not used.)
American English
- N/A (The adjective form 'extortive' is obsolete and not used.)
Examples
By CEFR Level
- The bad man tried to extort money from the shop owner.
- It is a crime to extort secrets from people.
- Corrupt officials were found to have extorted bribes from construction companies.
- The journalist argued that the tax was a way for the government to extort money from citizens.
- The regime used the security services to extort confessions from political dissidents.
- Prosecutors built a case showing how the network systematically extorted protection money from businesses across the city.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think: EX-TORTure. To EXtort is to TORTure something OUT of someone.
Conceptual Metaphor
Information/money is a hidden object that must be violently extracted from a container (the victim).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Do not confuse with 'extract' (извлекать). 'Extort' is always negative and forceful. The Russian verb 'вымогать' is a close equivalent.
Common Mistakes
- Using 'extort' to mean simply 'get' or 'obtain' (e.g., 'He extorted high marks' is wrong unless threats were used).
- Confusing 'extort' (verb) with 'extortion' (noun).
Practice
Quiz
Which of the following actions best illustrates the meaning of 'extort'?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Blackmail is a specific type of extortion involving the threat to reveal damaging or sensitive information. Extort is the broader category; you can extort money using threats of violence, not just information.
Very rarely and only metaphorically with a strong negative connotation, e.g., 'The interviewer extorted a promise from the politician.' It still implies improper pressure.
The noun is 'extortion'. A person who commits extortion is an 'extortionist'.
The correct prepositional phrase is 'extort money from someone'. 'Extort something of someone' is incorrect.