How to Use ensnare in a Sentence

ensnare

verb
  • The animals got ensnared in the net.
  • The police successfully ensnared the burglar.
  • Lies told first to impress her, then to ensnare her, then to keep her.
    — Maria Fontoura, Rolling Stone, 29 June 2021
  • Then a pursuing seal gets stuck and even a shark can get ensnared.
    — Melanie Bencosme, NBC News, 10 Mar. 2018
  • But the rest of us, even the skeptics, are ensnared in the same structures.
    — Hannah Zeavin, Harper's Magazine, 15 June 2022
  • Players who want to leave it behind play on, ensnared by a complex pull.
    — Adam Kilgore, courant.com, 26 Aug. 2019
  • The kitten didn’t care about the twitches and outbursts that ensnared the young boy.
    — Alden Woods, azcentral, 18 Apr. 2018
  • He got caught on something — his antlers ensnared in dog run cable, photos show.
    — Julia Daye, Sacramento Bee, 16 Feb. 2024
  • The plan was to ensnare him using a net shot out of a specialized gun, but the gun did not fire.
    — Nora Mishanec, SFChronicle.com, 23 Oct. 2020
  • Li was the first among about a dozen soccer officials ensnared in the crackdown.
    — Nectar Gan, CNN, 13 Dec. 2024
  • Plastics can ensnare and trap marine life or end up in the stomachs of creatures large and small.
    — Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Jan. 2021
  • When the building catches fire, he is blamed even while the flames ensnare his family.
    — Ben Kenigsberg, New York Times, 4 May 2018
  • Once ensnared, smaller drones can be dragged away by the DroneHunter.
    — Jason Sherman, Scientific American, 3 Apr. 2023
  • Life’s got you; the gods and planets ensnare the weak and vulnerable.
    — Matthew Strauss, Pitchfork, 26 Sep. 2025
  • When a body is discovered off the side of the boardwalk, decades-old grudges and rumors ensnare the town.
    — Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 2 Apr. 2025
  • His scheme ensnared over 40 victims, some of whom are now suing to get their watches back.
    — Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2024
  • Trappers tear down the trees to pluck babies from nests or put out wooden sticks covered with glue to ensnare adults en masse.
    — National Geographic, 21 May 2018
  • Leake ensnared him, the victim’s father and two of their acquaintances.
    — Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 11 Mar. 2025
  • With no one left to bid but Jio, too young to be ensnared in the tax debacle, the pickings may be slim.
    — The Economist, 12 Dec. 2019
  • He was even known to have set up roadblocks for illicit elk, the way others might to ensnare drunk drivers.
    — Susan Casey, Field & Stream, 6 Dec. 2020
  • They’ve been ensnared by his arching curveball and deft precision for the better part of two decades.
    — Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 21 Aug. 2025
  • This is not the first off-field incident that Nacua has gotten ensnared in in recent months.
    — Adam Grosbard, Oc Register, 30 Mar. 2026
  • The stricter laws have led to concerns that some kids who pose no real threat are being ensnared in the justice system.
    — Kelly Puente, The Tennessean, 14 July 2025
  • The law, which has faced accusations of being over-broad in its language, has ensnared many.
    — Angele Latham, Nashville Tennessean, 23 Sep. 2025
  • In both adulation and disgust, the crowds ensnared him, baying for either a touch of their hero, or his blood.
    — SI.com, 12 June 2019
  • Some complained about getting trapped in the same cash-bail system that had ensnared Caldwell.
    — Charles Duhigg, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026
  • Elsewhere, Mae ensnared Qimir in a trap, having changed her mind about the mission.
    — Keisha Hatchett, TVLine, 18 June 2024
  • Sakaske, who sold Nathan the tuna gear, thinks Linda was ensnared in the fishing lines.
    — James D. Walsh, Daily Intelligencer, 23 Jan. 2018
  • The vaquita, the world’s smallest cetacean, becomes ensnared in the totoaba nets and drowns.
    — Sandra Dibble, sandiegouniontribune.com, 7 June 2017
  • When the car finally came to a halt, it was perched precariously on its side, ensnared by a swarm of tires.
    — Tyler Kraft, Indianapolis Star, 8 Sep. 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ensnare.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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