entwine

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

en- + twine (verb).

Pronunciation

Verb

entwine (third-person singular simple present entwines, present participle entwining, simple past and past participle entwined)

  1. To twist or twine around something (or one another).
    • Shelley
      entwined in duskier wreaths her braided locks
    • 2013 June 14, Sam Leith, “Where the profound meets the profane”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 37:
      Swearing doesn't just mean what we now understand by "dirty words". It is entwined, in social and linguistic history, with the other sort of swearing: vows and oaths.

Usage notes

Particularly used in attributive form entwined.

Often used interchangeably with intertwine, with minor usage distinctions. In symmetric sense of two things twining around each other, such as the branches of two trees, narrower intertwine may be preferred, but these are not strictly distinguished. In asymmetric sense of one thing twined in or around another – rather than mutually – such as a vine twined around a tree (but tree not twined around the vine), entwined is preferred.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

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