as in tangled
to catch or hold as if in a net
parked just out of view, the state trooper was lying in wait to ensnare unwary speeders
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in trapped
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Recent Examples of ensnared
Dominic Patten, Deadline, 17 Oct. 2025
Meanwhile, Jonathan and Mina Harker return to Transylvania with their teenage daughter, Quincey — only for her to be ensnared in the castle’s sinister games.
—Eric E. Harrison, Arkansas Online, 11 Oct. 2025
Finally, a legal battle between Carlton and Dominion ensnared several parties for years.
—Miranda Dunlap, jsonline.com, 6 Oct. 2025
The separation comes five years after the couple were ensnared in the college admissions scandal, pleading guilty to wire and mail fraud related to paying hundreds of thousands in bribes to get their daughters into the University of Southern California.
—Brie Stimson , Larry Fink, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2025
Former host Burton has tried to reboot Reading Rainbow himself in the past — but became ensnared in legal challenges with the local PBS station within Buffalo Toronto Public Media.
—Anastasia Tsioulcas, NPR, 3 Oct. 2025
The law, which has faced accusations of being over-broad in its language, has ensnared many.
—Angele Latham, Nashville Tennessean, 23 Sep. 2025
Cain, an orthodontist from Texas, was unwittingly ensnared in the murder investigation.
—Doc Louallen, ABC News, 19 Sep. 2025
When any object gets close to a supermassive black hole, it's typically ensnared in a powerful gravitational pull.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
Long ensnared in his long relationship with the now deceased Epstein, who supposedly committed suicide while in police custody in 2019, Andrew has become a public pariah to his image-conscious family since his mother’s death in 2022.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 17 Oct. 2025
Meanwhile, Jonathan and Mina Harker return to Transylvania with their teenage daughter, Quincey — only for her to be ensnared in the castle’s sinister games.
—Eric E. Harrison, Arkansas Online, 11 Oct. 2025
Finally, a legal battle between Carlton and Dominion ensnared several parties for years.
—Miranda Dunlap, jsonline.com, 6 Oct. 2025
The separation comes five years after the couple were ensnared in the college admissions scandal, pleading guilty to wire and mail fraud related to paying hundreds of thousands in bribes to get their daughters into the University of Southern California.
—Brie Stimson , Larry Fink, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2025
Former host Burton has tried to reboot Reading Rainbow himself in the past — but became ensnared in legal challenges with the local PBS station within Buffalo Toronto Public Media.
—Anastasia Tsioulcas, NPR, 3 Oct. 2025
The law, which has faced accusations of being over-broad in its language, has ensnared many.
—Angele Latham, Nashville Tennessean, 23 Sep. 2025
Cain, an orthodontist from Texas, was unwittingly ensnared in the murder investigation.
—Doc Louallen, ABC News, 19 Sep. 2025
When any object gets close to a supermassive black hole, it's typically ensnared in a powerful gravitational pull.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 16 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ensnared
Verb
-
The British were obviously not aware that Washington’s army, a scant seven miles away by direct line but about ten by water, was trapped at the tip of Long Island.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
18 Oct. 2025
-
Devil’s Play follows Iva (Ivanova), a troubled teenager trapped between an abusive stepfather (Stretch) and a distant, deaf mother (Tenekedjieva).—
The Deadline Team,
Deadline,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
On the smallest scales, the strong nuclear force binds quarks into bound structures, three-at-a-time, known as baryons.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
16 Oct. 2025
-
Murray, 72, was found bound and slain in the basement of his home in the 3700 block of Newcastle after his wife called 911 to report a robbery.—
Christina Hall,
Freep.com,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The Tech Coup by Marietje Schaake Technology has been tangled up in modern life for a long time, but the entwinement of Big Tech, as an industry, with our daily habits—everything from tracking friends to hiring cabs—is new.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
22 Oct. 2025
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Later, Jimmy Uso was tangled up with Knight and when Jimmy came over to help out his brother, Jey saw an opportunity.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Like thousands of enslaved people, Harry Washington abandoned the plantation when the war began and fought for Great Britain.—
Peter Mendelsund,
The Atlantic,
8 Oct. 2025
-
In Marx’s terms, enslaved workers actually represent variable capital in the production process.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ensnared.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ensnared. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.
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