Enmesh

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ɛnˈmɛʃ/

Definitions

1. To cause someone or something to become caught or entangled in a complex or difficult situation
2. To involve someone closely in a complicated or troublesome circumstance, making escape or separation difficult
3. To trap or snare by weaving or intertwining, or to become deeply involved in a problematic condition

Etymology: "Mesh" is the word that does the real work here: it is the English noun for the open network of a net, the gaps between threads, and "enmesh" is simply that noun turned into a verb with the prefix "en-", meaning to catch or entangle something in a net. The prefix is the older and more widely traveled piece. It descends from a prefrix that passed into Latin as "in-" and then into Old French as "en-", which is why English has so many verbs built on it, such as "enclose" and "encircle", that share the same basic sense of putting something inside a boundary. The noun "mesh" came into English from Middle English, where it appeared as "mesh" or "mashe", referring to the holes of a net. Around that noun, English speakers began building verbs with "en-", and "enmesh" grew out of that pattern. Its original sense was literal, catching fish or game in a net, and the figurative sense of being tangled in trouble or difficulty came later as the image of a net was applied to situations.

Synonyms: entangle, intertwine, involve, ensnare, trap

Antonyms: free, release, untangle, disentangle, liberate