ensnare
Americanverb (used with object)
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ensnares,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ensnared,
past participle, past
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ensnaring
present participle
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
-
ensnaressimple
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have ensnaredperfect
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has ensnaredperfect
-
am ensnaringprogressive
-
are ensnaringprogressive
-
is ensnaringprogressive
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have been ensnaringperfect progressive
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has been ensnaringperfect progressive
Past
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ensnaredsimple
-
had ensnaredperfect
-
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:
Killer whales are highly intelligent apex predators and have been known to play with their prey and deploy sophisticated tactics to ensnare them.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 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
They swung them like lassos and began to ensnare Typhon, throwing lines around the creature’s legs and arms, using the tide to keep circling, slowly tangling him.
From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan
The veteran character actor plays a man whose pilfering of a wallet ensnares him in more high-stakes criminality in this elegant autumnal caper.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
He introduces the plan and fully ensnares Tóth into the project.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 19, 2024
When Tár ensnares a new protégé, it is as if she is exploiting a younger version of herself.
From New York Times ● Dec. 31, 2022
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
They possess less, and they enjoy fewer, luxuries than others; but they escape slavery in all the Protean shapes by which it ensnares the rest of mankind.
From A Morning's Walk from London to Kew by Richard Phillips
Vorcaro is under investigation in one of the country's biggest financial scandals that has ensnared many in power.
From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026
By the time you get your bearings, you’re ensnared in its net.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 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
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
It caused waves in the global car industry, ensnaring several other top carmakers and leading to legal action in multiple countries, including Britain, France, South Korea and the United States.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
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
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
It turns out that quicksand, known as supersaturated sand, is a real thing around the world, even in Maine, far from the jungle locations where Hollywood has used it to add drama by ensnaring actors.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 6, 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
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
