ensnarl
Americanverb (used with object)
Etymology
Origin of ensnarl
Explanation
To ensnarl is to tangle someone or something up in a complicated situation. You might accidentally ensnarl yourself in your best friend's argument with her parents. When you become caught or stuck in a difficult circumstance, you might wonder how you managed to ensnarl yourself in it. Some people ensnarl themselves in their friends' problems, while others manage to ensnarl themselves is every workplace argument that comes up. Ensnarl comes from the verb snarl, "to tangle or catch in a noose," with its original fourteenth century meaning, "snare or noose."
Vocabulary lists containing ensnarl
Every Falling Star
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A Clash of Kings
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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.
The reports, which were obviously bogus, were the work of activists on TikTok, programmers, and Twitter and Reddit users who said they wanted to ensnarl the site’s administrators in fabricated data.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 3, 2021
Because their flight was so early in the morning, they had avoided the congestion and delays that would soon ensnarl Heathrow Airport.
From Time Magazine Archive
Thou knowest not the love-warm marl Of Earth, but dead and white The wastes wherein thy roots ensnarl Ere thou art freed in light.
From The California Birthday Book by Various
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
