abduction
abduction Lexical Profile
abduction Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The unlawful act of taking someone away against their will by force, fraud, or coercion.
"The authorities issued an urgent alert immediately after the child's abduction was reported."
The physiological movement of a limb or other body part away from the midline of the body or from another part.
"The physical therapist evaluated the patient's shoulder strength during arm abduction."
A form of logical inference that starts with an observation or set of observations and seeks the simplest and most likely explanation.
"Medical diagnosis often relies on abduction to determine the most probable cause of a patient's symptoms."
Word Nuance & Usage
In anatomy and physiology, do not confuse 'abduction' (moving a limb away from the body's midline) with its near-homophone 'adduction' (bringing a limb back toward the midline). In logic, 'abduction' refers to inference to the best explanation, distinct from 'deduction' and 'induction'.
• Rhymes for abduction
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the early 17th century from Late Latin abductio ('a leading away'), a noun of action from the verb abducere, formed from ab- ('away from') and ducere ('to lead').