entangle
- entangle
entangle, involve, enmesh are comparable when meaning to catch or to hold as if in a net from which it is difficult to escape.
Entangle usually carries the implications of impeding and of the difficulty or impossibility of escape; although basically the word implies being caught in a net, a snare, or a maze, it may suggest only a condition that is similar in forming a complication of difficulties
{
the fly became entangled in the spider's web and could not escape
}
{
like a bird entangled in a snare
}
{
entangle themselves in the mazes of sophistry
}
{
the firm is entangled in financial difficulties
}
{
peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none— Jefferson
}
{
had entangled the king in a false marriage with her— Sitwell
}
Involve (see also
INVOLVE 3; compare
involved under
COMPLEX) implies the addition, often the conscious addition, of ideas, words, or projects which tend to make difficulties (as by confusing or perplexing) for oneself or another
{
his sentences are involved because he tries to express too many ideas
}
{
the controversies . . . moved on in all their ugliness to involve others—7. M. Brown
}
{
I plead frankly for the theistic hypothesis as involving fewer difficulties than any other— Inge
}
Enmesh comes very close to entangle in meaning but may be preferred when an involvement in or as if in the meshes of a net is strongly felt
{
declining to haul up the net when the fish were already enmeshed— Grot e
}
{
his eye was enmeshed in no tangle of foreground, but was led across great tracts of country to the distant mountains— Binyon
}
Analogous words: *
hamper, trammel, fetter, clog, hog-tie: *
embarrass, discomfit: ensnare, snare, entrap, trap, capture, *
catch
Antonyms: disentangle
New Dictionary of Synonyms.
2014.
:
Look at other dictionaries:
Entangle — En*tan gle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Entangled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Entangling}.] 1. To twist or interweave in such a manner as not to be easily separated; to make tangled, confused, and intricate; as, to entangle yarn or the hair. [1913 Webster] 2. To … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Entangle — Développeur Daniel P. Berrangé Dernière version 0.2.0 ( … Wikipédia en Français
entangle — index bait (lure), bicker, bilk, collide (clash), confound, confuse (create disorder) … Law dictionary
entangle — early 15c., from EN (Cf. en ) (1) + TANGLE (Cf. tangle). Related: Entangled; entangling … Etymology dictionary
entangle — [v] involve, mix up bewilder, burden, catch, clog, come on, complicate, compromise, confuse, corner, dishevel, duke in, embarrass, embrangle, embroil, enchain, enmesh, ensnare, entrap, fetter, hamper, hook, impede, implicate, intertangle,… … New thesaurus
entangle — ► VERB (usu. be entangled in/with) 1) cause to become tangled. 2) involve in complicated circumstances. DERIVATIVES entanglement noun … English terms dictionary
entangle — [en taŋ′gəl, intaŋ′gəl] vt. entangled, entangling 1. to involve in or as in a tangle; catch, as in a net, vine, etc., so that escape is difficult; ensnare 2. to involve in difficulty 3. to confuse mentally; perplex 4. to cause to be tangled or… … English World dictionary
entangle — UK [ɪnˈtæŋɡ(ə)l] / US verb [transitive] Word forms entangle : present tense I/you/we/they entangle he/she/it entangles present participle entangling past tense entangled past participle entangled 1) to twist someone or something up in something… … English dictionary
entangle — verb a) To tangle; to twist or interweave in such a manner as not to be easily separated; to make confused and intricate; as, to entangle yarn or the hair. b) To involve in such complications as to render … Wiktionary
entangle — v. (D; tr.) to entangle in, with * * * [ɪn tæŋgl] with (D;tr.) to entangle in … Combinatory dictionary
