abduction

noun

1. 1

   A leading away; a carrying away.

2. 2

   The act of abducing or abducting; a drawing apart; the movement which separates a limb or other part from the axis, or middle line, of the body.

   Abduction is performed by asking the patient to raise the arm at the side as high as they can with the examiner stabilizing the scapula by holding it down.

3. 3

   A syllogism or form of argument in which the major premise is evident, but the minor is only probable.

   The significance of such a step is that it is not morphologically triggered: it is a step of abduction, and what is required here is a meta-level process of reasoning.

4. 4

   The wrongful, and usually forcible, carrying off of a human being.

   the abduction of a child

   Saturday’s actions – the abduction of [Venezuelan] President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas to face federal drug-trafficking charges in the U.S., and the deadly bombings of military installations and some civilian buildings across the country – had “Trump Corollary” written all over them.

5. 5

   An alien abduction.

   But fear of abduction never stopped a good ufologist.

Forms

plural

abductions