ensnared 1 of 2

adjective

as in trapped

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ensnared

2 of 2

verb

past tense of ensnare
as in tangled
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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of ensnared
Verb
Who else in Newsom’s circle has been ensnared by DOJ’s investigations? — Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 16 June 2026 By 2014, the Honeywells and their compound were ensnared in local controversy. — Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 28 June 2026 The operation, ProPublica found, ensnared innocent residents of the majority-Black city who said they were targeted and harassed because of their race. — Topher Sanders, ProPublica, 30 June 2026 In all fairness, the idea that five disgruntled political operatives had staged a botched burglary made far more sense than to imagine a government conspiracy that ensnared the president, the attorney general, the FBI director, and the head of the CIA. — Tracy Grant, Encyclopedia Britannica, 15 June 2026 Those charges followed a sprawling indictment of 34 defendants that also ensnared Hall of Fame player and Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and former Lakers assistant coach Damon Jones. — Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026 More than 30 people, including members and associates of four major Mafia crime families, Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and ex-NBA player Damon Jones, have been ensnared in the scheme. — Tom Winter, NBC news, 10 June 2026 Tinky Winky, the purple Teletubby who was ensnared in controversy in 1999 when televangelist Jerry Falwell accused it of being gay (and yet rumors still linger on…), led moves with Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po all joining in on the fun. — Marc Malkin, Variety, 25 June 2026 González's chief of staff Francisco Domenech is the latest to be ensnared in a high-profile investigation, following the resignation last month of Puerto Rico’s economic development chief Sebastián Negrón, who accused the administration of interfering with the agency's work. — ABC News, 18 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ensnared
  1. trapped
  2. tangled
  3. bound
  4. enslaved
Adjective
  • Some of the deportees survived the hotel’s collapse, but many remain trapped in the rubble.
    — Lex Harvey, CNN Money, 30 June 2026
  • Food particles and microorganisms can become trapped in the nicks, grooves, and scratches on the board.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 28 June 2026
Definition of trapped
Verb
  • In other words, the valuable part of any message, the signal, can easily get tangled up in noise.
    — Michael Ashley, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
  • During the first game, the Fever’s Caitlin Clark and the Mercury’s DeWanna Bonner got tangled up, said some unkind things, and five players wound up with technical fouls in the aftermath.
    — Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 2 July 2026
Definition of tangled
Adjective
  • The team checked this directly by computing how much of each galaxy's baryon budget actually stayed bound to the system.
    — Paul Sutter, Space.com, 9 June 2026
  • To help calculate a lower bound, Erdős assumed that the points would be laid out in a grid.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 1 June 2026
Definition of bound
Adjective
  • That if you were deemed, as an enslaved person, if you were deemed troublesome or in some way unwanted, you would literally be sold down the river from the more northern states to the deeper south where you would potentially be treated even worse.
    — Dana Taylor, USA Today, 3 July 2026
  • Thomas Jefferson — along with Robert Hemmings, an enslaved teenager who attended to his daily needs — arrived in Philadelphia for the Second Continental Congress in May 1776.
    — Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 3 July 2026
Definition of enslaved

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Cite this Entry

“Ensnared.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ensnared. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on ensnared

Nglish: Translation of ensnared for Spanish Speakers

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