1
as in traps
a device or scheme for capturing another by surprise
you fell for my clever snare, you fool!
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in tangles
something that catches and holds
someday you'll find that your lies are a snare from which you can't escape
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in nets
to catch or hold as if in a net
easily distracted by any bright object that snared his eye
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in grabs
to take physical control or possession of (something) suddenly or forcibly
campers trying to snare brook trout for supper
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of snares
Charlotte Reck, CNN Money, 4 Feb. 2026
The team used non-invasive survey tools, including 285 hair snares and 135 remote cameras, to collect the information from a 150-square-mile area, the institute said.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 29 Jan. 2026
The team gathered their marten data via 285 hair snares (made from PVC pipe) and 135 cameras.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 22 Jan. 2026
Its graphic clarity teems with ornament and glitter, visual intoxications that signal delusions and snares.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2026
In other parts of the state, hoop nets and crab snares may be used.
—Linda Zavoral, Mercury News, 26 Oct. 2025
But those Prince-like snares are rounded out with a full string orchestra of Swedish musicians.
—Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 3 Oct. 2025
Other finalists included an initiative to upcycle plastic waste collected in Victoria Falls and an AI project that aerially detects wire snares set by poachers.
—Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Sep. 2025
Gabrielle Rockson, PEOPLE, 28 Jan. 2026
Maybe Deandre Ayton snares his first signature Lakers moment.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2025
Noun
One photographer visited Uganda and captured the striking image of a mountain of snares, used to trap wildlife and confiscated by the nation’s rangers.
—Charlotte Reck, CNN Money, 4 Feb. 2026
The team used non-invasive survey tools, including 285 hair snares and 135 remote cameras, to collect the information from a 150-square-mile area, the institute said.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 29 Jan. 2026
The team gathered their marten data via 285 hair snares (made from PVC pipe) and 135 cameras.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 22 Jan. 2026
Its graphic clarity teems with ornament and glitter, visual intoxications that signal delusions and snares.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2026
In other parts of the state, hoop nets and crab snares may be used.
—Linda Zavoral, Mercury News, 26 Oct. 2025
But those Prince-like snares are rounded out with a full string orchestra of Swedish musicians.
—Maya Georgi, Rolling Stone, 3 Oct. 2025
Other finalists included an initiative to upcycle plastic waste collected in Victoria Falls and an AI project that aerially detects wire snares set by poachers.
—Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Sep. 2025
Verb
Hair snares use tape and wire to collect DNA and other data by collecting a sample of wild animal hair when creatures pass by, according to Popular Science.
—Gabrielle Rockson, PEOPLE, 28 Jan. 2026
Maybe Deandre Ayton snares his first signature Lakers moment.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for snares
Noun
-
But talking about identity has ever-shifting rules and hierarchies that amount to bear-traps that can spring at any time.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Employee food handler cards were expired, insect traps were hanging from the ceiling in the food prep area and raw meat juice was found in the bottom of the freezer.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Accessories should be minimal and delicate, to avoid any tangles mid-journey.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
14 Jan. 2026
-
But the seven-member volunteer commission — long expected to take the reins from OPD’s federal overseers — still seems to be struggling to gain footing within Oakland’s complex bureaucratic tangles.—
Shomik Mukherjee,
Mercury News,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The fun begins when a snook grabs the bait.—
Steve Waters,
Miami Herald,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Even the Puppy Bowl crew occasionally grabs a few.—
Marina Johnson,
Louisville Courier Journal,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
In the months before the surge in operations, police lost 25 armored vehicles to ambushes involving barricades, trenches and Molotov cocktail attacks, authorities said.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Hamas has used the tunnels to store weapons, hide hostages and stage ambushes of Israeli soldiers.—
Samuel Granados,
New York Times,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Yet despite the growing global consensus that all trysts should start on the opposite sides of a hockey puck, most real-life skating entanglements occur between athletes on the same team.—
Natasha O'Neill,
Vanity Fair,
3 Feb. 2026
-
Sudden shifts in intimacy or financial entanglements can disrupt what once felt fun, flirtatious or uncomplicated.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
These backroads teach a different rhythm — the wonders of going the long way, of stopping when something catches your eye, of noticing beauty that doesn’t shout for attention.—
Josh Jackson,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
-
All told, the 5-foot-11, 180-pound Shaheed, 27, who also catches passes and runs reverses, had a big say in Seattle’s two extra-large wins over the Rams.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Snowflakes drift down like tiny nets, moving slowly and exposing lots of surface area, gathering more pollutants than fast-falling raindrops.—
Isabel Lopez,
Parents,
11 Feb. 2026
-
The staff had bored holes in the nearby ice to set nets for whitefish and turbot.—
Boris Fishman,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
There’s much for delight, but the drama lost steam in a confusing episode near the end, when a Snake (portrayed by Abrahamse) snatches the Prince away.—
Scott Cantrell,
Dallas Morning News,
7 Feb. 2026
-
Maisie is a throw-away child in 1910, captivated by a poster of a magical French carousel, when an aunt snatches her out of poverty and takes her into the home of her wealthy employer, a British lord.—
Sandra Dallas,
Denver Post,
24 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Snares.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snares. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.
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