enmesh

verb

en·​mesh in-ˈmesh 

en-

variants or less commonly immesh

i(m)-ˈmesh 

enmeshed also immeshed; enmeshing also immeshing; enmeshes also immeshes

transitive verb

: to catch or entangle in or as if in meshes

deeply enmeshed in the plot

enmeshment

i(m)-ˈmesh-mənt 

noun

Synonyms

• entrap
• ensnare
• tangle
• trap
• entangle
• mesh
• involve
• snare

Examples of enmesh in a Sentence

soon after Eli Whitney had invented it, others copied his cotton gin, and he spent the rest of his life enmeshed in lawsuits trying to protect his invention

Recent Examples on the Web

As summer gives way to fall—cooler nights, busier days—there are more opportunities to be present, to be deliberate, to be enmeshed in the dailiness of one’s life. —Julia Hass, Literary Hub, 16 Sep. 2025

Lam advocates for a broad reintroduction of discretion, through which people enmeshed in bureaucracies would be given more room to make individual decisions. —Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2025

As Stewart makes clear, conjuring has been enmeshed in American life for centuries. —Danielle Amir Jackson, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2025

In addition, crucial societal and business-minded tradeoffs are fully enmeshed. —Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1604, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for enmesh

• afresh
• horseflesh
• refresh
• creche
• flesh
• fresh
• lesch
• mesh
• resh
• thresh
• gilgamesh

Kids Definition

enmesh

verb

en·​mesh in-ˈmesh 

: to entangle in or as if in meshes

was enmeshed in a series of disputes