Meaning & use
entail
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Meanings
verbtransitiveformal
To make something necessary or bring it as a result.
Grammar: Takes an object, often an -ing form: the job entails traveling.
Patterns
- entail something
- entail doing something
The job entails a lot of travel.
Owning a dog entails getting up early.
The plan would entail serious cost.
verbtransitivelegal
To arrange that property can only pass to a certain line of heirs.
Grammar: A legal term, now rare.
Patterns
- entail an estate
The lord entailed the estate on his eldest son.
The land was entailed for generations.
The will entailed the house to male heirs.
Word forms
| third person singular | entails |
|---|---|
| past tense | entailed |
| -ing form | entailing |
Common combinations
- entail risk
- Skydiving entails some risk.
- entail a cost
- The repair entails a heavy cost.
- entail hard work
- Success entails hard work.
- what the job entails
- Ask what the job entails.
- entail responsibility
- The role entails a lot of responsibility.
Synonyms and how they differ
- involve
- Involve is more general and everyday, while entail stresses necessary consequences.
- require
- Require says something is needed, whereas entail says it comes along with something.
- imply
- Imply suggests something is hinted at or logically follows, not that it is a practical requirement.
- necessitate
- Necessitate is more formal and stronger, meaning make something unavoidable.
Opposites
Word family
- entailment noun
- a logical consequence, or the legal restricting of property
- entailed adjective
- restricted to certain heirs
- entailing adjective
- bringing as a necessary result
Commonly confused: entail or detail? entail or entitle?
entail vs detail
Detail means a small fact or to list facts, and does not mean a necessary part of something.
entail vs entitle
Entitle means to give a right or a title, which differs from requiring something.
Practice
Running a restaurant ____ long hours and constant pressure.
Choose one answer.
Entails means brings with it as a necessary part. Entitles would suggest giving a right, and enjoys and enlists do not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “entail”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.