Criminally Important SAT Vocabulary: EXTORTED 🕵️‍♂️ 💰️

EXTORTED refers to a criminal activity that you may have seen on TV or in the movies.

One thing—some of you may recall that I generally define the word as it appeared on the context. I do this because I have had students in the past get confused when a variation of a word that they know appears on the test, most frequently when the past participle is in a regular, like swum.

ℹ️ Part of speech of extorted

extorted is the past tense of the VERB 'extort'.

🗣️ Pronunciation of extorted

extorted is pronounced /ɪk.ˈstɔr.tɪd/ or ihk-STOR-tid.

📚️ Definition of extorted

extorted means to have obtained something, often money, from someone by force or threats. Example: The thug extorted money every month from the store owner for "protection."

📰 Examples

Here are some examples of extorted used in a sentence:

• Rumors circulated that some of the politicians had extorted huge sums of money from businesses in return for political favors.

• Kofi's online account was hacked, and the hackers extorted him for thousands before he could regain control.

🧠 Quick vocab quiz on extorted

Test yourself!

extorted most nearly means

(A) embezzled.
(B) won.
(C) created.
(D) found.
(E) coerced.

And one more:

Which of the following sentences suggests that someone has been extorted?

(A) Lu Wei found a message on her computer screen demanding payment in cryptocurrency or else her files would be deleted.
(B) A common scam is to send a product in the mail to someone who didn't order it so that a business can leave a five-star review online for the item.
(C) A lost wallet full of cash lay on the sidewalk.
(D) A fan of Yeezies, Raj was disappointed to discover that his favorite shoes were sold out.
(E) Sofia received a full scholarship to her top choice college.

Scroll down for the answer/s.

💁🏼 Tips on using the word extorted correctly

Extortion is a crime. The word extorted often implies that threats or coercion were involved. It is not simply taking something that doesn't belong to you; it involves applying pressure or threats to get what you want.

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✅ Quiz answer/s

Answers:

• E, coerced.

• A, Lu Wei found a message on her computer screen....

That's all for today's SAT vocabulary word. If this has been useful, please leave a comment below or share this word with others who are studying for the SAT.

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