ensnare
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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to catch or trap in a snare
-
to trap or gain power over someone by dishonest or underhand means
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
ensnaresimple
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ensnaressimple
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have ensnaredperfect
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has ensnaredperfect
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am ensnaringprogressive
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are ensnaringprogressive
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is ensnaringprogressive
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have been ensnaringperfect progressive
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has been ensnaringperfect progressive
Past
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ensnaredsimple
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had ensnaredperfect
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was ensnaringprogressive
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were ensnaringprogressive
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had been ensnaringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ensnare
Explanation
To ensnare something is to trap it. Instead of using snapping mousetraps, you might try to ensnare the mice in your kitchen and set them free outside. While you can use the verb ensnare to talk about literally catching something in a trap, it's also useful for more figurative kinds of traps. Your French teacher might try to ensnare you in becoming more involved in the French club, or rush hour traffic might ensnare you as you rush to make it to work on time. The word combines the prefix en, or "put in," and snare, with its Old Norse root snara, "noose or snare."
Vocabulary lists containing ensnare
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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The Odyssey
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Surviving Hitler
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Multilingual scripts, images of young women and timed toilet breaks: a police tour of a newly busted cyberscam operation in Cambodia on Wednesday revealed how fraudsters ensnare foreign victims online.
From Barron's ● Mar. 11, 2026
The law is so broad and vague that it could ensnare anyone who maintains databases such as Mr. Webb’s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2025
"They're built to ensnare sharks or fish and they're deadly effective, but sadly completely indiscriminate," says Dean Cropp who, as a cinematographer and ocean explorer, has been documenting these nets for years.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2025
There’s evidence that buckwheat and bush sunflower can take up lead, and saltbush can ensnare arsenic, Fang said, also name-checking corn, squash and cucumber for their ability to sequester contaminants such as dioxins.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2025
But as I knelt, the mist seemed to ensnare my body like a sticky shroud, intent on dragging me down.
From "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" by Avi
The production, co-created and directed by Moisés Kaufman, throbs with lip-synchable pop hits of such eclectic range that the dance club energy eventually ensnares everybody.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2024
It ensnares boaters and slows the river’s flow, which heightens flood risks and makes an ideal nursery for mosquitoes.
From New York Times ● Nov. 28, 2023
Females spin a web shaped like a slice of pie, pull it taut, then let go the instant an insect strikes, so the web collapses and ensnares her prey.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 19, 2022
Christian, however, ensnares Satine’s heart with his silly love songs, which he dreams up with the alacrity of a music library playlist.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2022
I am no bird, and no net ensnares me.
From The World's Greatest Books — Volume 02 — Fiction by Mee, Arthur
Feldstein Soto ran on a promise to crack down on no-bid contracts — a stance prompted in part by the corruption scandal that ensnared the office of her predecessor, former City Atty.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
He was one of about 200 people ensnared in Operation Catch of the Day, the overwhelming majority of whom had no criminal record.
From Slate ● Apr. 15, 2026
Under Ms. Zambello’s pithy direction, those ensnared in the juggernaut can only lose.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026
The investigation that ultimately ensnared Hernández stretched across several U.S. presidencies.
From Salon ● Feb. 19, 2026
He felt ensnared in a tangle of deep shadows, shadows as black as the night that stretched above his head.
From "Native Son" by Richard Wright
The purges soon widened, ensnaring generals who had worked in arms procurement—including China’s defense minister at the time, Li Shangfu.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 28, 2026
It caused waves in the global car industry, ensnaring several other top carmakers and leading to legal action in several countries.
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2025
Victims say soaring scams, weak bank safeguards, and poor recovery expose regulatory gaps in a country where digital banking has outpaced cybercrime checks, ensnaring people across classes.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2025
As research for his dissertation turns to investigation, it ripples back to the 1950 TB epidemic and forward, ensnaring in its wake Reykdal, reluctant witnesses and the detectives on the case.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2024
In these close quarters, I was unable to back up without the risk of ensnaring myself in the ropes or breaking my ankle in one of the gaps between the floorboards.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
