TRAPPED Synonyms: 96 Similar and Opposite Words

trapped 1 of 2

adjective

as in bound

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Dissimilar Words

trapped

2 of 2

verb

past tense of trap

as in tangled

to catch or hold as if in a net an ambitious young man who was now trapped in a series of shady business deals

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in grabbed

to take physical control or possession of (something) suddenly or forcibly finally trapped the annoying fly in the palm of his hand

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 trapped

Adjective

The male driver became trapped inside the vehicle and had to be removed by emergency personnel. — Nicole Buss, Sacbee.com, 25 Oct. 2026 Meet Helios Quantinuum builds what are called trapped ion quantum computers. — ArsTechnica, 20 Oct. 2026 Jaemor Farms employee Lynn Lewis even has a strategy for those who start to feel trapped. — Alexa Liacko, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026 Numerous investigations have documented how patients can become trapped in a revolving door of treatment, relapse and reenrollment, with each relapse putting them at risk of overdose and death. — Ilan Shrira, The Conversation, 13 Oct. 2026 Emergency crews were trying to reach at least two people that remained trapped inside. — ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026 The driver managed to escape with one dog while another remained trapped inside, according to the Ventura County Fire Department. — Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2026 Both buyers and sellers remain trapped in a wait and see stance, further dragging on a US housing market that has been stagnant for nearly four years. — CNBC, 29 Sep. 2026 These damp materials remain trapped in the folds and never fully dry, creating the perfect warm, moist environment for microbial growth. — Kamron Sanders, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Sep. 2026

Verb

This year, heavensouls dropped westside trapped, a showcase of plundersymphonic finesse and a tribute to Nigerian beats. — Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 26 Oct. 2026 Rae, trapped in a ghetto in Novogrudok, watched the Nazis murder her mother and one of her sisters. — Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026 The members of the House inside the chamber remained trapped, while rioters finally breached the Senate Gallery. — Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026 Cybersecurity initiatives become trapped between organizational silos. — Jc Gaillard, Forbes.com, 26 Oct. 2026 During our interview, Eisenkot and I discuss Bessel van der Kolk, the Harvard psychiatrist whose bestselling book, The Body Keeps the Score, explores how overwhelming experiences can leave people psychologically trapped in the past. — Eric Cortellessa, Time, 25 Oct. 2026 Russia and Ukraine are engaged in talks on ending the plight of people trapped in Oleshky, Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said in an interview with Espreso. — Samya Kullab, Arkansas Online, 20 Oct. 2026 Sine feels trapped by motherhood due to her demanding daughter, Ida. — Annika Pham, Variety, 19 Oct. 2026 That same evening, officers found a coyote in the area where the child was bitten, then trapped and euthanized it. — Fedor Zarkhin, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for trapped

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

Verb

The costly dispute instead stretched for almost a decade, becoming tangled up with the War of the Austrian Succession.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Oct. 2026
Besides the challenge of rebuilding the tunnel, the railroad has been tangled for several years in legal disputes with the city of Fort Bragg and the California Coastal Commission.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of tangled

Verb

Nantz tried to knock the ball from Watt, but hit his wrist hard on the football and immediately grabbed his hand.

— ABC News, ABC News, 22 Oct. 2026
The former center grabbed headlines in March for commenting on a Rangers loss that coincided with the team’s Pride Night celebration.

— Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of grabbed

Adjective

Her path crosses with that of Inocência, an enslaved Black woman who possesses healing knowledge, knows the land, and devises her own strategies of resistance.

— Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
Ten Southern state legislatures endorsed the idea by passing laws that allowed the freeing of an enslaved person only when deportation out of the state was arranged and paid for.

— Karen Masterson, The Conversation, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of enslaved

Verb

Those who have been fully overtaken by the Bardo, with no hope of escape, are entrapped in giant puppet suits.

— Jane Bua, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2026
How else could that show have ended, the way people were being entrapped, and, certainly, with the dubious legality of it all?

— Damon Wise, Deadline, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of entrapped

Verb

Her singing caught the attention of Abboud Saadi, the bassist for Lebanon’s most famous singer, Fairuz, who invited her to a recording session with Bypass Studio owner Ziad Rahbani.

— Shy Clara Thompson, Pitchfork, 23 Oct. 2026
Following her death, Trail dismembered Loofe’s body to avoid getting caught.

— Samantha Bergeson, Time, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of caught

Adjective

That gave the team an additional visual reference during one of neurosurgery’s most confined operating environments.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 27 Aug. 2026
Sewers can contain numerous hazards, including noxious and potentially deadly gases, unstable surfaces, flooding risks, and confined spaces.

— Brie Stimson, FOXNews.com, 31 May 2026

Definition of confined

Browse Nearby Words

trapezists

trapped

trapper

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Style

“Trapped.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trapped. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of trapped

adjective

verb

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