entail

[ verb en-teyl; noun en-teyl, en-teyl ]

/ verb ɛnˈteɪl; noun ɛnˈteɪl, ˈɛn teɪl /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: entail / entailed / entailing / entails on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to cause or involve by necessity or as a consequence: a loss entailing no regret.

to impose as a burden: Success entails hard work.

Law. to limit the passage of (a landed estate) to a specified line of heirs, so that it cannot be alienated, devised, or bequeathed.

Law. to cause (anything) to descend to a fixed series of possessors.

noun

the act of entailing.

Law. the state of being entailed.

any predetermined order of succession, as to an office.

Law. something that is entailed, as an estate.

Law. the rule of descent settled for an estate.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of entail

1350–1400; Middle English entailen (v.), entail (noun). See en-¹, tail²

OTHER WORDS FROM entail

en·tail·er, nounen·tail·ment, nounnon·en·tailed, adjectivepre·en·tail, verb (used with object)

un·en·tailed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use entail in a sentence

When one thinks of that, and the responsibility it entailed, it makes the hairs on the back of the neck move.
Blood in the Sand: When James Jones Wrote a Grunt’s View of D-Day|James Jones|November 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Twice in the past two weeks, this has entailed meeting a plane on the runway to retriever sick passengers who may be infected.
Ebola Panic Is Worse Than the Disease|Abby Haglage|October 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The duchess herself said her grandmother had been extremely discreet about what her job during the war entailed.
Kate Middleton’s Code-Breaking Granny: Duchess Uncovers Wartime Secrets|Tim Teeman|June 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I guess they were rightly afraid of what they might have heard, of what the answering might have entailed for us all.
Possessed by PTSD, A Veteran Uses Exorcisms to Cast Out His Demons|Brian Van Reet|February 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Enlightened liberalism, you see, entailed a certain courtesy, precision, evidence, reasoning.
Tony Lewis, American, Jew, Remembered|Bernard Avishai|October 24, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The senior branch of the family being thus extinct the whole of the entailed estate had devolved on me.
Uncanny Tales|Various
In fact, description and dialogue has entailed upon the writer rather an effort of memory than any strain upon the imagination.
Menotah|Ernest G. Henham
The navy in time of war was recruited by impressment, a system which, though recognised by common law, entailed much hardship.
The Political History of England - Vol. X.|William Hunt
You know the law about succeeding to peerages and entailed lands?
Tristram of Blent|Anthony Hope
The sacrifice entailed by this departure was in proportion to these sentiments.
My Recollections of Lord Byron|Teresa Guiccioli

British Dictionary definitions for entail

entail

/ (ɪnˈteɪl) /

verb (tr)

to bring about or impose by necessity; have as a necessary consequencethis task entails careful thought

property law to restrict (the descent of an estate) to a designated line of heirs

logic to have as a necessary consequence

noun

property law

the restriction imposed by entailing an estate
an estate that has been entailed

Derived forms of entail

entailer, noun

Word Origin for entail

C14: entaillen, from en- 1 + taille limitation, tail ²

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

entail

Origin of entail

OTHER WORDS FROM entail

Words related to entail

How to use entail in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for entail

Derived forms of entail

Word Origin for entail