Meaning & use
ensnare
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To catch an animal or person in a trap or net.
Grammar: Takes an object: ensnare the rabbit. Often passive: caught and ensnared.
Patterns
- ensnare someone
- ensnare something in something
The hunter set out to ensnare a fox.
The spider ensnared a fly in its web.
Fishing nets can ensnare turtles by accident.
verbtransitivefigurative
To trick someone into a difficult situation they find hard to escape.
Grammar: Usually figurative: ensnared in a scheme.
Patterns
- ensnare someone in something
- be ensnared by something
The scam ensnared hundreds of retired people.
He was ensnared in a web of lies.
The company's tricks ensnared customers in long contracts.
verbtransitiveliteraryfigurative
To attract and hold someone's attention or affection, as if by a trap.
Grammar: Literary and often romantic: ensnare a heart.
Patterns
- ensnare someone
Her charm ensnared everyone in the room.
The thrilling plot will ensnare readers from the first page.
Word forms
| third person singular | ensnares |
|---|---|
| past tense | ensnared |
| past participle | ensnared |
| -ing form | ensnaring |
Common combinations
- ensnare a victim
- Fraudsters ensnare a victim with promises of easy money.
- ensnared in debt
- Many students are ensnared in debt.
- ensnared by lies
- He was ensnared by his own lies.
- ensnare the unwary
- The offer was designed to ensnare the unwary.
- ensnare with charm
- She tried to ensnare him with charm.
Synonyms and how they differ
- trap
- Trap is the everyday word and works for animals or people, while ensnare sounds more dramatic or literary.
- entangle
- Entangle stresses getting caught up in something, and it need not involve a planned trap.
- entrap
- Entrap often means tricking someone into doing something illegal, with a legal or police flavor.
- capture
- Capture simply means to take or catch, without implying a trap or a trick.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: ensnare or ensure?
ensnare vs ensure
Ensure means to make certain, and it has nothing to do with traps, although it begins with the same en- prefix.
Practice
The spider's web is designed to ____ insects as they fly past.
Choose one answer.
A web catches insects like a trap, so it ensnares them. Enclose means to surround and does not imply trapping.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ensnare”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.