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snare

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb snare contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of snare are bag, capture, catch, ensnare, entrap, and trap. While all these words mean "to come to possess or control by or as if by seizing," trap, snare, entrap, ensnare imply seizing by some device that holds the one caught at the mercy of the captor. trap and snare apply more commonly to physical seizing.

trap animals
snared butterflies with a net

When is bag a more appropriate choice than snare?

In some situations, the words bag and snare are roughly equivalent. However, bag implies shooting down a fleeing or distant prey.

bagged a brace of pheasants

When is it sensible to use capture instead of snare?

Although the words capture and snare have much in common, capture suggests taking by overcoming resistance or difficulty.

capture an enemy stronghold

When would catch be a good substitute for snare?

The synonyms catch and snare are sometimes interchangeable, but catch implies the seizing of something in motion or in flight or in hiding.

caught the dog as it ran by

How are the words entrap and ensnare related as synonyms of snare?

Both entrap and ensnare more often are figurative.

entrapped the witness with a trick question
a sting operation that ensnared burglars

Examples 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 snare
Noun
Perhaps, Minaj’s experimentation proved too radical for hip-hop – the Barbie aesthetic was one thing, but what were gatekeepers supposed to do with RedOne productions that sounded closer to Calvin Harris than the ricocheting snares of Mike Will Made-It? Kyle Denis, Billboard, 1 Oct. 2024 That the bosses of these corporations will easily slip any such snare. Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 20 Aug. 2024
Verb
Nettles snared it and prevented at least one run from scoring. Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 31 Oct. 2024 Also in the new top 10 of the Billboard 200, SEVENTEEN snares its sixth top 10 effort, all earned consecutively, as SPILL THE FEELS debuts at No. 5. Keith Caulfield, Billboard, 27 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for snare 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for snare
Noun
  • Finding new customers cannot and must not be the only solution to solving customer churn—that can be a trap.
    Agur Jõgi, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
  • Carpets are a home’s No.1 dirt trap and need thorough regular vacuuming.
    Marni Jameson, The Mercury News, 14 Nov. 2024
Noun
  • Six weeks later, what began as a missing persons case became a murder mystery, as Karen's body was found hidden beneath a tangle of vines by a caretaker near Bledsoe Cemetery in Dyer County.
    Gemma Schneider, ABC News, 1 Nov. 2024
  • There’s also a big tangle of conflicting feelings and emotional contexts at play here.
    Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2024
Verb
  • The addition will mean RTP will continue to have a place to grab barbecue after Lawrence Barbecue's owners decided to leave Boxyard RTP for downtown Cary.
    Zachery Eanes, Axios, 18 Nov. 2024
  • At one point, the man allegedly told Combs to grab a white bird from a cage that the man had presumably brought with him.
    Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 18 Nov. 2024
Noun
  • Desmond comes back from the desert planet, insisting that the ambush was not from the native Fremon but from insurgents from allied houses.
    Scott Tobias, Vulture, 17 Nov. 2024
  • The cartel has also been linked to the 2019 ambush that killed nine Americans in Mexico.
    CBS News, CBS News, 31 Oct. 2024
Noun
  • But new research suggests that one English woman convicted of witchcraft and condemned to be hanged may have escaped the noose.
    Julia Buckley, CNN, 31 Oct. 2024
  • One of the posters outside Holloway’s building contained an image of a noose, according to NBC New York.
    Minyvonne Burke, NBC News, 10 Aug. 2024
Verb
  • But he was caught from behind by defensive back Devin Grant, something that would have been hard to imagine a year ago.
    Jeff Faraudo, The Mercury News, 16 Nov. 2024
  • Vele has been targeted eight times on third and fourth down in that span and caught all eight for conversions.
    Parker Gabriel, The Denver Post, 15 Nov. 2024
Noun
  • Today's enterprise technology stack is, by design, a complex web of AI models, APIs and microservices.
    Rajat Bhargava, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
  • Facebook photos show Reeves surrounded by family in hospital A family member of Reeves posted multiple photos on Facebook showing the teenager lying in a hospital bed surrounded by a web of cords attached to medical equipment along with what appeared to be a breathing tube hooked up to his mouth.
    Robert Anglen, The Arizona Republic, 20 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • Though his men currently six points clear at the La Liga summit over Madrid, Flick refuses to accept that Barca is the favourite to snatch the top domestic prize back from Los Blancos.
    Tom Sanderson, Forbes, 2 Nov. 2024
  • While Harris in her speech promised to take the United States in a new direction if elected, remarks from Biden from earlier Tuesday snatched the spotlight away from his vice president.
    Rebecca Morin, USA TODAY, 30 Oct. 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near snare

Cite this Entry

“Snare.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snare. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

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