enchain

E1N1C3H4A1I1N1
/ɪnˈtʃeɪn/

verb

To restrain with, or as if with, chains.

OriginEnglish chain ← Middle English cheyne ← Old French chaeine →
Scrabble 12
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Meanings

verbenchain (third-person singular simple present enchains, present participle enchaining, simple past and past participle enchained)

present singular third person enchains · participle present enchaining · participle past enchained · past enchained

  1. transitiveTo restrain with, or as if with, chains.

    [B]y this sign one enchained the demons of the air, the spirits of fire, the phantoms of water and ghosts of earth.

    1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 152
    1 more example

    Powerful as were his own feelings, almost tempting him to throw himself at her feet, and make a full acknowledgment of his unvaried and never-ceasing love; yet his recollections of Harcourt, and circumstances therewith connected, the certainty of his expected arrival in England, restrained his utterance, threw a sort of spell over him, enchained by a species of self-command insupportably agonizing.

    1838, [Letitia Elizabeth] Landon (indicated as editor), chapter XIX, in Duty and Inclination: […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 239
  2. transitiveTo link together.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
enthrall

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁én
  2. Proto-Italic*en
  3. Proto-Italic*en-
  4. Latinin-
  5. Old Frenchen-
  6. Middle Englishen-
  7. Englishen-
  8. Proto-Italic*katesnā
  9. Latincatēna
  10. Old Frenchchaeine
  11. Middle Englishcheyne
  12. Englishchain
  13. Englishenchain

From en- + chain.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian оковавам
  • оковавам (okovavam)to restrain with, or as if with, chains
Czech spoutat
  • spoutatto restrain with, or as if with, chains
Greek αλυσοδένω
  • αλυσοδένω (alysodéno)to restrain with, or as if with, chains
Italian incatenare, catenare
  • incatenareto restrain with, or as if with, chains
  • catenareto restrain with, or as if with, chains
Spanish encadenar
  • encadenarto restrain with, or as if with, chains
Turkish zincirlemek
  • zincirlemekto restrain with, or as if with, chains

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Chennai
Cite this entry
APA

enchain. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enchain

MLA

“enchain.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enchain. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “enchain,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enchain.

Source: enchain on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.