extort

  1. Verb.  (transitive) 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.
  2. Verb.  (transitive, legal) To obtain by means of the offense of extortion.

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This entry was last updated on RefTopia from its source on 3/20/2012.