Dictionary

ensnare en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ɪn-/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ɛnˈsnɛ(ə)ɹ/ (General-American)
• /ɪn-/ (General-American)
• /ɛnˈsnɛə/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Italic *en Proto-Italic *en- Latin in- Old French en-bor. Middle English en- English en- English snare English ensnare From en- + snare.

Meanings

1. To entrap; to catch in a snare or trap.
   • The Geese and the Cranes fed in the same meadow. A birdcatcher came to ensnare them in his nets. 1887, Æsop, translated by George Fyler Townsend, Three Hundred Æsop's Fables:
   • When he spurns her, Julia is outraged to hear it is because she did not measure up to his secret list of 10 bullet-pointed attributes for an ideal bride. To get her own back, she invites her best friend, penniless clergyman’s daughter Selina Dalton (Freida Pinto), up to town to ensnare Malcolm, by faking the 10 comely attributes from his list. 2022 August 24, Peter Bradshaw, “Mr Malcolm’s List review – Regency romcom served with cake-icing of irony”, in The Guardian:
   • When we were asked to what one should apply the name “what is not”, we were ensnared in total paradox. Remember? 2005, Plato, translated by Lesley Brown and 250d-e, Sophist:
   • Let theſe / Inſnare the vvretched in the toils of lavv, / Fomenting diſcord, and perplexing right, / An iron race! a. 1749 (date written), James Thomson, “Autumn”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published 1768, →OCLC, page 160, lines 1289–1292:
2. (figuratively) To entangle; to enmesh.
   • But electric vehicles and the batteries that made them run became ensnared in corporate scandals, fraud, and monopolistic corruption that shook the confidence of the nation and inspired automotive upstarts. 2006, Edwin Black, chapter 1, in Internal Combustion:
   • The gamble proved devastating for millions of people, beyond public figures ensnared in the leak and subsequent media frenzy, including the reality TV star Josh Duggar, the Real Housewives Of New York star Kristen Taekman’s husband and, in an earlier scandal, the politician Eliot Spitzer. 2021 March 7, David Hytner, “Manchester United catch City cold as Fernandes and Shaw end winning run”, in The Guardian:

Forms

Deriveds

unensnared · ensnarer · ensnarement

Relateds

snare

Synonyms

ravel · ensnarl · imply · enmesh · tangle · ravel · implicate · snarl · foul · snarl · ensnare · mat · entangle · involve · ensnarl

Translations (54)

de einfangen (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · mi tākeke (to entangle) · ru поймать (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · cs polapit (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · pt engodar (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · nl verwikkelen (to entangle) · es enmarañar (to entangle) · pt enredar (to entangle) · fr piéger (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · sv snärja (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · cs chytit do pasti (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · sv snärja (to entangle) · mi raraka (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · de fangen (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · mi toromāhanga (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · ro ademeni (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · la illaqueō (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · mi tāwhiti (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · sq kurthoj (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · ru запутать (to entangle) · bg впримчвам (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · mi āhere (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · it intrappolare (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · la illaqueō (to entangle) · fr empêtrer (to entangle) · mi tāhere (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · nl strikken (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · de verheddern (to entangle) · mi rore (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · mi ārau (to entangle) · gd rib (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · wyi bang-un (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · enm snaren (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · mi reti (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · de verstricken (to entangle) · mi hīrau (to entangle) · hu tőrbe csal (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · grc παγιδεύω (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · mi raraka (to entangle) · pt emaranhar (to entangle) · mi pōtari (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · es atrapar (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · mi porowhīwhiwhi (to entangle) · nl vangen (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · mi takawhiwhi (to entangle) · es enredar (to entangle) · mi tari (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · mi tā (to entangle) · ro a prinde în capcană (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · mi tārore (to snare, to catch through a snare or trap) · nl verstrikken (to entangle) · de verwickeln (to entangle) · mi porowhiwhiwhiwhi (to entangle) · mi tāweka (to entangle)