ensnare

verb

en·​snare in-ˈsner 

en-

ensnared; ensnaring; ensnares

transitive verb

: to take in or as if in a snare

Synonyms

• trap
• tangle
• entrap

Choose the Right Synonym for ensnare

catch, capture, trap, snare, entrap, ensnare, bag mean to come to possess or control by or as if by seizing.

catch implies the seizing of something in motion or in flight or in hiding.

caught the dog as it ran by

capture suggests taking by overcoming resistance or difficulty.

capture an enemy stronghold

trap, snare, entrap, ensnare imply seizing by some device that holds the one caught at the mercy of the captor.

trap and snare apply more commonly to physical seizing.

trap animals

snared butterflies with a net

entrap and ensnare more often are figurative.

entrapped the witness with a trick question

a sting operation that ensnared burglars

bag implies shooting down a fleeing or distant prey.

bagged a brace of pheasants

Examples of ensnare in a Sentence

The animals got ensnared in the net.

The police successfully ensnared the burglar.

Recent Examples on the Web

The elaborate scheme, masterminded by members of four Mafia families in collusion with celebrity athletes, ensnared unsuspecting victims, bleeding them of over $7 million through cunning deception, prosecutors said in the indictment. —Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 27 Oct. 2025

In this case, that meant that the delivery companies needed to ensnare people who had never made delivery a part of their life before. —Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 27 Oct. 2025

The pendant threads through Casino Royale and resurfaces in Quantum of Solace, where it’s revealed as a calling card of the network that ensnared Vesper; Bond (Daniel Craig) even carries it as a memento mori. —Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 25 Oct. 2025

Around the same time, Ortega-Jiménez discovered that spiderwebs deform when positively charged insects fly by, bulging out to ensnare them. —Cody Cottier, Scientific American, 23 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1576, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for ensnare

• abwehr
• affair
• affaire
• airfare
• altair
• armchair
• aware
• beware
• bugbear
• carfare
• childcare
• compare

Kids Definition

ensnare

verb

en·​snare in-ˈsna(ə)r 

-ˈsne(ə)r

: snare entry 2 sense 1, entrap