entail

[en-teyl, en-teyl, en-teyl]

verb (used with object)

1. to cause or involve by necessity or as a consequence.

   a loss entailing no regret.

2. to impose as a burden.

   Success entails hard work.

3. Law.,  to limit the passage of (real estate) to a specified line of heirs, so that it cannot be transferred or bequeathed to anyone else.

4. Law.,  to cause (anything) to descend to a fixed series of possessors.

noun

1. the act of entailing.

2. Law.,  the state of being entailed.

3. any predetermined order of succession, as to an office.

4. Law.,  something that is entailed, as an estate.

5. Law.,  the rule of descent settled for an estate.

entail

/ ɪnˈteɪl /

verb

1. to bring about or impose by necessity; have as a necessary consequence

   this task entails careful thought

2. property law to restrict (the descent of an estate) to a designated line of heirs

3. logic to have as a necessary consequence

noun

1. property law

   1. the restriction imposed by entailing an estate

   2. an estate that has been entailed

Other Word Forms

• entailer noun
• entailment noun
• preentail verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of entail¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; from Middle English entailen (verb), entail (noun), equivalent to en- ¹ + tail ² ( def. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of entail¹

C14: entaillen , from _en- ¹ + taille limitation, _tail ²

Example Sentences

Murdoch’s involvement would probably entail Fox Corp. investing in the deal, a source familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly told The Times.

From Los Angeles Times

Parkinson indicated that one factor in securing a conviction would have entailed proving that China was an "enemy" as stated in the Official Secrets Act 1911.

From BBC

Barnier and Bayrou were also brought down as a result of their proposed budgets, which would have entailed substantial cuts - with politicians on the left instead calling for tax rises.

From BBC

The issue, said Bader Al-Saif, an assistant professor of history at Kuwait University, is that there’s little specificity as to what a U.S. security umbrella actually entails.

From Los Angeles Times

I do not need to repeat these details here, other than to note that they inevitably entailed a considerable degree of complexity.

From BBC

Related Words

• bring about 
• call for 
• encompass 
• involve 
• lead to www.thesaurus.com
• necessitate 
• require