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Glite Dictionary
⚖️ Law trick defense 🪤 Trapping by trick
entrapment

entrapment

1 6.4
The act of trapping people or animals with tricks and traps
  • noun
  • /ɪnˈtræpmənt/
translation icon : atrapamiento
  • Hikers should always be aware of potential entrapment in challenging terrains, where they might get caught in difficult situations.

It's a blackmail entrapment ring out of Puerto Rico.

Examples

  • The detective knew the suspect was setting a trap for him, highlighting the danger of entrapment in their game of wits.

  • Photo: Avoiding entrapment, a female pitcher plant mosquito hovers just above the pool at the mouth of a carnivorous pitcher plant.

    Academic text (1992)

  • Circumstances of entrapment included the child being forgotten in, gaining access—including to the trunk—and being intentionally left behind in a vehicle.

    Academic text (2011)

  • The film explores the psychological entrapment of individuals who are manipulated into deceitful relationships.

Synonyms

setup
vsentrapment
87 6.8

An act of tricking someone so they are blamed for a crime they did not commit

focuses on causing legal accusation or conviction rather than general capture
sting
vsentrapment
67 6.3

A hidden trick to catch or cheat people often run by police

is a more general act of causing capture that is not always organized
ensnarement
vsentrapment
1 8.3

A situation in which someone is trapped by a trick or tool

describes the deliberate act of causing someone to be caught

Antonyms

to release
∞ 1.8

To let someone or something go free from being held

liberation
127 3.9

The act of setting people free from control or unfair treatment

Compounds

nerve entrapment
  • Specialized
6.8

A condition in which a nerve near a joint becomes pinched and causes pain and numbness

How Effective

capture
112 3.2
entrapment
1 6.4
snare
11 6.7
trap
752 2.0

Surface Forms

entrapment singular
entrapments plural

Morphology

entrapment = entrap (transparent) = en + trap + ment

A straightforward nominalization of 'entrap' denoting the act or result of entrapping, which learners can infer from the component verb and '-ment'.

Etymology

Entrapment is made from en- 'in' and trap, so it literally means being put 'in a trap'. That is why entrapment now means the act of trapping someone or tricking them into a trap, whether an animal, a person, or an online scam.