kidnapper

to kidnap, to abduct

verb kid-nah-PEH Less Common

Origin: English 'kidnap'

Usage Note

Kidnapper is a 20th-century borrowing from English, fully integrated into French. The agent noun is un kidnappeur / une kidnappeuse, and the act is un kidnapping (also borrowed). The more formal legal synonym is enlever (to abduct), and the noun enlèvement is preferred in official or judicial language.

Examples

"Des criminels ont tenté de kidnapper l'enfant."

Natural Translation

Criminals attempted to kidnap the child.

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