ensnarling

verb

present participle of ensnarl
as in trapping
to catch or hold as if in a net for two years the couple was ensnarled in the red tape of an international adoption

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ensnarling
  1. trapping
  2. tangling
Verb
  • The three-story building at 1321 Flatbush Avenue — with a medical-uniforms store on the ground floor and a three-bedroom apartment above — had indeed fallen, killing eight people and trapping several more in the debris.
    — Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 12 Nov. 2026
  • Wolfson is preparing for all kinds of strategy scenarios, from full-court presses to teams relying on threes to trapping defenses.
    — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 11 Nov. 2026
Definition of trapping
Verb
  • My colleagues in the Test Kitchen were floored by how delicious an overcooked vegetable can be—how the rabe became creamy like a green sauce, tangling around every other ingredient.
    — Chris Morocco, Bon Appetit Magazine, 4 Nov. 2026
  • It’s designed to handle loose hair of any length without tangling.
    — Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of tangling
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

ensnarled
ensnarling
ensnarls
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ensnarling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ensnarling. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Nov. 13

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
speech-bubble-untangle
Simplify The Convoluted Expression Quiz A quiz that’s as “uncomplicated as a round de...
See All