ensnarl

English

Etymology

en- +‎ snarl

Pronunciation

• enPR: ĕn-snärlʹ, IPA^(key): /ɛn.ˈsnɑː(ɹ)l/
  • (UK) [ɛn.ˈsnɑːɫ]
  • (US) [ɛn.ˈsnɑɚ̯ɫ]

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)l

Verb

ensnarl (third-person singular simple present ensnarls, present participle ensnarling, simple past and past participle ensnarled)

1. To entangle; to trap.
   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book V, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

     They in awayt would closely him ensnarle, / Ere to his den he backward could recoyle, / And so would hope him easily to foyle.

Anagrams

• lanners, rannels