What does extortionary mean?
Extortionary is an adjective describing something that involves, resembles, or results from extortion — the practice of obtaining money, property, or compliance through threats, coercion, or abuse of authority. It is most often applied to practices, tactics, demands, or schemes: an extortionary racket, extortionary pricing, or extortionary terms imposed under duress. The word carries strongly negative connotations of exploitation and illegitimate pressure, whether the conduct in question is actually criminal or merely grossly unfair. It appears chiefly in legal, journalistic, and formal contexts, where precision matters: prosecutors may characterize a scheme as extortionary, while commentators might apply it figuratively to exploitative fees or monopolistic pricing. Related forms include the noun extortion, the agent noun extortionist, and the more common adjective extortionate, which usually describes individual prices or rates. Understanding extortionary is useful for reading legal reporting and for describing coercion with accuracy and force.
adjectiveRelating to, involving, or characteristic of extortion; obtained by or amounting to extortion.
- Relating to, involving, or characteristic of the crime of extortion (obtaining something through threats or coercion).
- (Of prices, fees, or demands) so excessive as to amount to extortion.
"The court ruled that the landlord's demands were extortionary and ordered the contract voided."
"Prosecutors described the syndicate's protection racket as a textbook case of extortionary conduct."
"Critics condemned the lender's extortionary interest rates, which trapped borrowers in cycles of debt."
Behind every 'extortionary' demand lies the Latin word for twisting — because extortion literally means wringing something out of someone.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of extortionary
Extortionary derives from the Latin extorquere, meaning to twist out or wrest away, formed from ex- ('out') plus torquere ('to twist'). English adopted the noun extortion from Anglo-Norman and medieval Latin in the late Middle Ages, and the adjective extortionary was formed later by adding the adjectival suffix -ary. It shares its twisting root with words such as torment and torture, reflecting the original image of forcibly wrenching something from a victim.
Related word forms
How extortionary is actually used
A formal word used chiefly in legal, journalistic, and academic writing. "Extortionate" is considerably more common in everyday British English for describing excessive charges; "extortionary" tends to appear when characterizing behaviour or practices rather than single prices.
Easily confused with extortionary
"Extortionate" typically describes a price or charge that is excessively high, while "extortionary" more broadly describes anything relating to or characteristic of the crime of extortion.