entrap
[en-trap]
- to catch in or as in a trap; ensnare: The hunters used nets to entrap the lion.
- to bring unawares into difficulty or danger: He entrapped himself in the web of his own lies.
- to lure into performing an act or making a statement that is compromising or illegal.
- to draw into contradiction or damaging admission: The questioner entrapped her into an admission of guilt.
- Law. to catch by entrapment.
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Origin of entrap
Synonyms
See more synonyms for entrap on Thesaurus.com1. capture, snare, trap.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for entrapped
Contemporary Examples
There may be no entrapped pool of human talent left on earth with the dollar value of Cuban athletes.
The Life and Hard Times Of The Family A Cuban Defector Left BehindBrin-Jonathan Butler
December 19, 2014
On a 1957 trip to Moscow, Alsop was entrapped by a handsome young KGB spy and the incident was caught on camera.
She felt claustrophobic, entrapped like an exotic bird, but despite her angst she lacked the courage to leave.
Rita Moreno, SAG Life Achievement Award Winner, Talks Brando, Elvis And West Side StorySandra McElwaine
January 15, 2014
Lincoln has entrapped him into arguing not against Lincoln, but against the English language.
At the battle of Salamis, that navy had entrapped and smashed the Persian fleet.
Historical Examples
He was entrapped; not taken in open day, with a fair field before him.
His anger increased as he thought how he had been entrapped, like a mere child.
Abbe Mouret's TransgressionEmile Zola
The great wonder was, how Wyatt had been entrapped into such a match.
Masterpieces of MysteryVarious
And had he and Shad only entrapped themselves to no good end?
The Vagrant DukeGeorge Gibbs
The manner in which you entrapped the Prince compels my admiration.
The DestroyerBurton Egbert Stevenson
entrap
- to catch or snare in or as if in a trap
- to lure or trick into danger, difficulty, or embarrassment
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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
Word Origin and History for entrapped
entrap
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper