Synonyms of ensnare

ensnare

verb

in-ˈsner 

as in to trap

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• trap
• tangle
• entrap
• enmesh
• entangle
• snare
• mesh
• involve
• net
• capture
• ensnarl
• catch up
• immesh
• implicate
• entoil
• embroil
• collar
• mire
• birdlime
• bag

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• disentangle
• extricate
• detach
• disengage
• liberate
• untangle
• free
• clear

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb ensnare contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of ensnare are bag, capture, catch, entrap, snare, and trap. While all these words mean "to come to possess or control by or as if by seizing," trap, snare, entrap, ensnare imply seizing by some device that holds the one caught at the mercy of the captor. trap and snare apply more commonly to physical seizing.

trap animals

snared butterflies with a net

When can bag be used instead of ensnare?

While in some cases nearly identical to ensnare, bag implies shooting down a fleeing or distant prey.

bagged a brace of pheasants

When is it sensible to use capture instead of ensnare?

In some situations, the words capture and ensnare are roughly equivalent. However, capture suggests taking by overcoming resistance or difficulty.

capture an enemy stronghold

When could catch be used to replace ensnare?

Although the words catch and ensnare have much in common, catch implies the seizing of something in motion or in flight or in hiding.

caught the dog as it ran by

How are the words entrap and ensnare related?

Both entrap and ensnare more often are figurative.

entrapped the witness with a trick question

a sting operation that ensnared burglars

Examples of ensnare in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The effort, launched under a cloak of secrecy, became ensnared in controversy last year amid unfounded speculation that the land buyers were foreign agents intent on espionage. —Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2024

During their journey some of them become ensnared in fishing gear — a phenomenon that has been increasing in occurrence in recent decades, according to a 2023 study in the journal Conservation Science and Practice. —Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 9 July 2024

Call it info-determinism: the belief that the ways that information flows through the world are actually a kind of web in which we’re ensnared. —Joshua Rothman, The New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2024

The combination ensnared the pod of dolphins, which usually swim farther out at sea. —Jayme Moye, Outside Online, 19 July 2024