entail

verb

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en·tail | \ in-ˈtāl

, en- \

entailed; entailing; entails

Definition of entail

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to impose, involve, or imply as a necessary accompaniment or result the project will entail considerable expense

2 : to restrict (property) by limiting the inheritance to the owner's lineal descendants or to a particular class thereof

3a : to confer, assign, or transmit (something) for an indefinitely long time : to confer, assign, or transmit as if by entail entailed on them indelible disgrace— Robert Browning

b : to fix (a person) permanently in some condition or status entail him and his heirs unto the crown— William Shakespeare

entail

noun

en·tail | \ ˈen-ˌtāl

, in-ˈtāl

Definition of entail (Entry 2 of 2)

1a : a restriction especially of lands by limiting the inheritance to the owner's lineal descendants or to a particular class thereof

b : an entailed (see entail entry 1 sense 2) estate

2 : something transmitted as if by entail

Other Words from entail Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More About entail

Examples of entail in a Sentence

Verb Pregnancy involves the bodily dependence of the unborn child on its mother; in many cases, it entails a significant physical burden. — Cathleen Kaveny, Commonweal, 4 May 2007 … it was a Master Highlighter Event, a two-day guest appearance by one of Kinkade's specially trained assistants, who would highlight any picture bought during the event for free. Highlighting a picture is not that different from highlighting your hair: it entails stippling tiny bright dots of paint on the picture to give it more texture and luminescence. — Susan Orlean, New Yorker, 15 Oct. 2001 Life is a difficult and complicated enterprise. It entails joy but also suffering, gain but also loss, hope but also despair. — Neal Gabler, Life: The Movie, 1998 Discourse is a social as well as an intellectual activity; it entails interaction between minds, and it revolves around something possessed in common. — David A. Hollinger, In the American Province, (1985) 1992 He accepted the responsibility, with all that it entails. a lavish wedding entails extensive planning and often staggering expense See More

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb They could be limited to providing protection for humanitarian evacuations, tasked to stop Russian aircraft from flying or even to prevent missiles from being launched, which would entail attacking Russian ground facilities. — Stephen Fidler, WSJ, 9 Mar. 2022 The company has also agreed to implement up to $27 million in measures to minimize future eagle injuries and deaths, the prosecutors said without detailing what that would entail. — Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2022 That could entail stepping up sanctions and isolation for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Rose Gottemoeller, deputy secretary-general of NATO from 2016 to 2019. — Ellen Knickmeyer, chicagotribune.com, 2 Apr. 2022 Amazon has used the regular meetings, which typically include a few dozen employees and last roughly 30 minutes, to create a false impression of what unionizing would entail, the union supporters said. — New York Times, 24 Mar. 2022 The key question is what neutrality for Ukraine would entail. — Jan Smoleński, The New Republic, 22 Mar. 2022 What that would entail – or what kind of disruption would lead to a shift in posture – remains unclear. — Kevin Liptak, CNN, 8 Mar. 2022 While promoting her new song on The Late Late Show, James Corden asked Camila what her birthday plans would entail. — Samantha Olson, Seventeen, 7 Mar. 2022 The Oscar winner's remarks came less than 24 hours before the Academy sought to clarify what the changes would entail and mean for the future of the Oscars. — Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 2 Mar. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'entail.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Learn More About entail

Dictionary Entries Near entail

Entada

entail

entailment

Statistics for entail

Last Updated

11 May 2022

Cite this Entry

“Entail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/entail. Accessed 28 May. 2022.

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More Definitions for entail

entail

transitive verb

en·tail | \ in-ˈtāl

Legal Definition of entail

(Entry 1 of 2)

: to make (an estate in real property) a fee tail : limit the descent of (real property) by restricting inheritance to specific descendants who cannot convey or transfer the property estates are entailed entire on the eldest male heir— Benjamin Franklin

entail

noun

Legal Definition of entail (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : an act or instance of entailing real property also : the practice of entailing property the repeal of the laws of entail would prevent the accumulation and perpetuation of wealth in select families — Thomas Jefferson — see also De Donis Conditionalibus

2 : an entailed estate in real property if entails had not become barrable— Eileen Spring

3 : the fixed line of descent of an entailed estate