Entrap

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ɪnˈtɹæp/

Definitions

1. To catch or trick someone into a difficult situation or into doing something they did not intend to do
2. To catch an individual or group by means of trickery, leading them into a challenging predicament or causing them to act against their own intentions
3. To ensnare someone by deception, resulting in their unwitting involvement in a troublesome scenario or an unintentional action

Etymology: "Entrap" is a verb built from "trap" with the prefix "en-", meaning "in" or "into." The trap itself is old: "trap" comes from a Germanic source, and English speakers had their own Old English verb "betræppan," meaning to catch someone in a trap, which is a close relative of the word we use now. The modern form, however, came through French. Old French had "entraper," meaning to catch in a trap, and Middle French carried that into English as "entrapper." The word has stayed close to its original picture. Where "trap" describes a device that snaps shut on an animal, "entrap" carries the same idea over to people: someone is lured into a position from which escape is hard. The sense of trickery in the modern meaning grows naturally from that image of a snare that a victim walks into willingly.

Synonyms: trap, capture, ensnare

Antonyms: free, release