entrenched

American  

[en-trencht] / ɛnˈtrɛntʃt /

adjective

1. firmly or solidly established; placed in a position of strength.

   One of the most firmly entrenched ideas of masculinity is that men don't cry.

2. surrounded by trenches dug for defensive purposes.

   Government troops had finally been forced to abandon their entrenched positions, making them vulnerable to ground attack.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of entrench.

Other Word Forms

• unentrenched adjective

Etymology

Origin of entrenched

entrench ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

With Love entrenched as the starter, there was no path to immediate playing time, but the Packers offered Willis the chance to learn under one of the game’s savviest offensive minds in coach Matt LaFleur.

From The Wall Street Journal

He is promising an as yet unspecified "new direction" for Scotland focused on solving entrenched problems in the public services.

From BBC

There should be some sense of whether Fed officials worried about inflation are feeling an entrenched resistance to change their beliefs.

From MarketWatch

Rhodium’s Wright said economists in China were speaking out more boldly because they were having trouble tackling entrenched interests.

From The Wall Street Journal

Avian flu - a type of influenza - is entrenched across South and South-East Asia and has occasionally infected humans since emerging in China in the late 1990s.

From BBC

Related Words

• rooted