as in trapping
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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Recent Examples of ensnaring
Last September, when news broke that another friend of Kraus’s, the journalist Olivia Nuzzi, had exchanged intimate texts with Kennedy, Kraus wrote a Substack post accusing Nuzzi of ensnaring Kennedy and insulted her looks on Instagram.
—
Clare Malone, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025
On another, the Internal Revenue Code stands ready with its expatriation tax regime—potentially ensnaring not only those who voluntarily renounce their citizenship but also those whose citizenship is stripped away.
—Virginia La Torre Jeker, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
And yet, these counterattacks may be ensnaring scientists in a catch-22.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 23 Aug. 2025
Clare Malone, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025
On another, the Internal Revenue Code stands ready with its expatriation tax regime—potentially ensnaring not only those who voluntarily renounce their citizenship but also those whose citizenship is stripped away.
—Virginia La Torre Jeker, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
And yet, these counterattacks may be ensnaring scientists in a catch-22.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 23 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ensnaring
Verb
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Ventless hoods don't have ductwork and include a charcoal filter for trapping smoke and odors so that air can be recirculated.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
15 Sep. 2025
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The pickup truck caught fire on impact, trapping its driver inside.—
Darrell Smith,
Sacbee.com,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The sides had been tangling over the evidence since March, when the judge held a Frye hearing to determine whether the new type of DNA testing should be admissible.—
Michael Ruiz , Jennifer Johnson,
FOXNews.com,
6 Sep. 2025
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The large brush roll resists tangling hair and pet fur, which eliminates the need to stop and pull items off the brush—and also eliminates a clogged pipe.—
Yelena Moroz Alpert,
Architectural Digest,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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That total lack of self-awareness and disregard for consequences fed right into Epstein’s warped way of entrapping others.—
Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa,
FOXNews.com,
25 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ensnaring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ensnaring. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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