Select the one-word substitute that best expresses the meaning of the phrase “obtain something by force, threats, or other unfair means”.

Introduction:
This question checks your understanding of precise legal and ethical vocabulary through one-word substitutes. The phrase obtain something by force, threats, or other unfair means describes a serious wrongful act, often connected with crime and corruption. Your task is to match this description with the correct verb from the options, which is widely used in law, journalism, and formal writing.

Given Data / Assumptions:

- Descriptive phrase: obtain something by force, threats, or other unfair means. - Options: to regret, to extort, to resent, to encompass. - Only one option should describe the wrongful act of obtaining something under pressure.

Concept / Approach:
The verb extort means to obtain money, property, or advantages from someone by using force, threats, or other forms of unfair pressure. It is closely associated with criminal activities such as blackmail and corruption. The other options refer to completely different emotional or conceptual states: regret means to feel sorry about something, resent means to feel bitter or angry about being treated unfairly, and encompass means to include or surround. Thus, extort is the only verb that fits the given phrase exactly.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Focus on the key elements in the phrase: obtain, force, threats, unfair means. Step 2: Recall that extortion is a crime and that to extort is the corresponding verb. Step 3: Compare the phrase to the dictionary idea of extort, which is to obtain something, especially money, by force or threats. Step 4: Check option A, to regret, which describes a feeling of sorrow, not an action of obtaining something. Step 5: Check option C, to resent, which refers to feeling bitter, not taking property from someone. Step 6: Check option D, to encompass, which means to include or cover, and is unrelated to coercion or threats. Step 7: Conclude that option B, to extort, matches the phrase perfectly.

Verification / Alternative check:
Consider example sentences: The criminals tried to extort money from the businessman or The official was charged with attempting to extort a bribe. In both sentences, extort clearly involves obtaining something through pressure or threats. Replacing extort with regret, resent, or encompass would destroy the meaning of the sentences, which confirms that these are not suitable synonyms.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
To regret refers to emotional response after an action, not to wrongdoing itself. To resent describes anger at being treated unjustly, which may be a feeling someone has after another person extorts from them, but it is not the act. To encompass has a neutral sense of including or surrounding and does not carry any negative, criminal, or coercive meaning. Therefore, these options cannot substitute for the given phrase.

Common Pitfalls:
Some candidates may confuse extort with exhort, which means to strongly urge or encourage. It is important to note the difference in spelling and meaning. Extort is negative and criminal, while exhort is positive or neutral and motivational. Keeping a small list of commonly confused pairs like this in your notes can help avoid mistakes in one-word substitution questions.

Final Answer:
To extort is the correct one-word substitute for obtaining something by force, threats, or other unfair means.