snare 1 of 2

noun

ˈsner How to pronounce snare (audio)
Definition of snarenext
1
as in trap
a device or scheme for capturing another by surprise you fell for my clever snare, you fool!

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in tangle
something that catches and holds someday you'll find that your lies are a snare from which you can't escape

Synonyms & Similar Words

snare

2 of 2

verb

1
as in to trap
to catch or hold as if in a net easily distracted by any bright object that snared his eye

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to grab
to take physical control or possession of (something) suddenly or forcibly campers trying to snare brook trout for supper

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Example 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
After hundreds of years of persistent persecution—one generation of farmers learning from the previous generation to poison, snare, and shoot wolves—the animals’ near disappearance around the turn of the 20th century was celebrated throughout Europe as the end of a long, bloody, and hard-won war. —Jonathan C. Slaght, The Atlantic, 11 June 2025 Beyond that, apex scavengers are sometimes killed accidentally—hyenas and lions can get caught in wire snares meant for herbivores in Africa. —Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 June 2025
Verb
Maybe the caterpillar itself had gotten snared in a spider’s web. —Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 24 Apr. 2025 Vettel then snared the drivers’ crown away from Webber and Ferrari rival Fernando Alonso at a tense finale in Abu Dhabi, becoming the youngest world champion in F1 history in the process. —Luke Smith, New York Times, 11 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for snare
Recent Examples of Synonyms for snare
  1. trap
  2. tangle
  3. grab
  4. ambush
  5. noose
  6. catch
  7. web
  8. snatch
Noun
  • Undervaluing Yourself To Avoid Conflict Many professionals, especially those early in their careers, fall into the trap of lowballing their worth out of fear.
    — Sho Dewan, Forbes.com, 25 July 2025
  • That’s the trap with a character like this — writing to a joke versus writing to her worldview and her attitude.
    — James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 24 July 2025
Definition of trap
Noun
  • Lying nearby is a tangle of thin string that is defining the war now – not fishing net, but fiber-optic cable, used to prevent drones being jammed.
    — Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 29 July 2025
  • This creates abnormal amounts of protein deposits called tangles, which kill brain cells.
    — George Petras, USA Today, 29 July 2025
Definition of tangle
Verb
  • Leave your troubles behind and grab a lime, because Thursday is National Tequila Day.
    — Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 25 July 2025
  • Concerned, the roommates grabbed golf clubs from one of the first-floor bedrooms and checked the house for a possible intruder.
    — Christopher Cann, USA Today, 24 July 2025
Definition of grab
Noun
  • The charges stem from an ambush at the Prairieland Detention Center earlier this month.
    — Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 16 July 2025
  • But in a motion last week, Lively’s team objected to that location, saying that Baldoni’s lawyers were setting up a media ambush, in which Lively would be besieged by paparazzi on her way in and out.
    — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 14 July 2025
Definition of ambush
Noun
  • Nashville police will not charge a person of interest after completing its investigation into how a rope tied like a noose came to be left onsite at the new Nissan Stadium.
    — Craig Shoup, Nashville Tennessean, 24 July 2025
  • Tennessee Builders Alliance sent workers home and contacted police after finding the rope tied like a noose.
    — Andy Humbles, The Tennessean, 22 July 2025
Definition of noose
Verb
  • Four years earlier, a Texas Rangers fan fell to his death while trying to catch a ball at that team’s former park.
    — Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 3 Aug. 2025
  • As a result, the show launched with little fanfare and caught the media completely off guard.
    — Caroline Reid, Forbes.com, 3 Aug. 2025
Definition of catch
Noun
  • The Talos post was published around the same time that the dark web site belonging to BlackSuit began displaying a message saying the site had been seized in Operation CheckMate.
    — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 26 July 2025
  • Meta lost the race to control the operating systems for the mobile web era in the early 2000s and 2010s, which Apple and Google won.
    — Clare Duffy, CNN Money, 25 July 2025
Definition of web
Verb
  • While studying abroad in Barcelona, my phone was snatched right out of my hand by a bicyclist.
    — Rosie Marder, Travel + Leisure, 3 Aug. 2025
  • Hamilton’s History Says Don’t Count Him Out While teammate Leclerc snatched pole, Lewis Hamilton struggled — at least on paper.
    — Kanzah Maktoum, Forbes.com, 3 Aug. 2025
Definition of snatch

Browse Nearby Words

snap (up)
snare
snared
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Snare.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snare. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.

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