Meaning & use
ensue
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Meaning
verbintransitiveformal
To happen as a result of something, or straight after it.
Grammar: Takes no object, and the thing that happens is the subject: a fight ensued. Often follows an event.
Patterns
- an argument ensued
- chaos ensued
- what ensued
A heated argument ensued after the referee's decision.
Chaos ensued when the fire alarm went off.
Nobody knew what would ensue from the vote.
Word forms
| third person singular | ensues |
|---|---|
| past tense | ensued |
| past participle | ensued |
| -ing form | ensuing |
Common combinations
- chaos ensued
- When the lights failed, chaos ensued.
- a fight ensued
- A fight ensued outside the pub.
- confusion ensued
- Confusion ensued when two trains arrived on one track.
- legal battle ensued
- A legal battle ensued over the will.
- ensue from
- Several problems may ensue from this decision.
Synonyms and how they differ
- follow
- Follow is the plain everyday verb, and ensue is formal and suggests a result of the earlier event.
- result
- Result needs the pattern result from or result in, while ensue stands alone.
- arise
- Arise means to come into being, but ensue stresses it comes after something else.
- occur
- Occur only says that something happens, without showing it is a consequence.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: ensue or ensure? ensue or insure?
ensue vs ensure
Ensure means to make certain that something happens, while ensue means to happen afterward. The spellings are close.
ensue vs insure
Insure means to protect with insurance, and it is not related to ensue.
Practice
Complete: 'After the goal was disallowed, a furious protest ____.'
Choose one answer.
Ensued means followed as a result and needs no object. Ensured and insured are different words with different meanings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ensue”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.