Abduction

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /əbˈdʌk.ʃən/, SAMPA: /@b"dVk.S@n/
• (US) IPA: /æbˈdʌk.ʃən/, SAMPA: /{b"dVk.S@n/

Noun

Abduction (plural Abductions)

1. The act of abducing or abducting; a drawing apart; a carrying away.
2. (physiology) The movement which separates a limb or other part from the axis, or middle line, of the body.
3. (law) The wrongful, and usually the forcible, carrying off of a human being.

   the abduction of a child

4. (logic) A syllogism or form of argument in which the major is evident, but the minor is only probable.
5. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)</span> (computing) The process of inference to the best explanation; abductive reasoning.
6. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)</span> Determining the best or most plausible of many possible explanations for a set of facts
7. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)</span> (education) The process used in getting students to see disciplinary regularity through the use of metaphor.

Synonyms

• (legal, carrying off of human being): kidnapping
• (logic): retroduction
• (determining most plausible explanation): retroduction

Derived terms

• alien abduction

Related terms

• abduce

Thesaurus

abduction, apprehension, arrest, arrestation, capture, catch, catching, collaring, coup, crimping, dragnet, forcible seizure, grab, grabbing, hold, impressment, kidnapping, nabbing, picking up, power grab, prehension, running in, seizure, seizure of power, shanghaiing, snatch, snatching, taking in, taking into custody