What does "enfilade" mean?
A line or straight passage, or the position of that which lies in a straight line.
Enfilade
/ˌɛnfəlˈeɪd/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A line or straight passage, or the position of that which lies in a straight line.
- Grammar: enfilade is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: flanking fire, aim at, aligned arrangement, barrage.
- Useful contrasts: direct fire, disjointed layout, frontal fire.
- Usage evidence: Enfilade and defilade are concepts in military tactics used to describe a military formation's exposure to enemy fire.
How to use "enfilade"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "enfilade" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "enfilade" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "enfilade" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "enfilade" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "enfilade" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "flanking fire" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "enfilade", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A line or straight passage, or the position of that which lies in a straight line.
"In his Booker Prize-winning novel The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst wrote about people who know their world history as being able to look back through the millennia as an enfilade of rooms: Greece yields to Rome; Rome to the Byzantine Empire ... the Renaissance ... the British Empire ... America ... China. The same goes for people who can recite their kings and queens. British history clicks into a long enfilade of discrete, identifiable periods."
- 2 gunfire directed along the length rather than the breadth of a formation wordnet
- 3 Gunfire directed along the length of a target.
"Uncle Charles, a truly unparalleled slinger of shit, is laying down an enfilade of same, trying to mollify men who seem way more in need of a good brow-mopping than I."
- 4 A series of doors that provide a vista when open.
Verb
- 1 To rake (something) with gunfire. transitive
"A great quantity of artillery was placed upon the eminence, so as to batter and enfilade the left of their intrenchments."
- 2 rake or be in a position to rake with gunfire in a lengthwise direction wordnet
- 3 To be directed toward (something) like enfilading gunfire. figuratively, transitive
"Together they saw the market thicken, and in course of time thin away with the slow decline of the sun towards the upper end of town, its rays taking the street endways and enfilading the long thoroughfare from top to bottom."
- 4 To arrange (rooms or other structures) in a row. transitive
"[…] the house had been boldly planned with a ball-room, so that, instead of squeezing through a narrow passage to get to it (as at the Chiverses’) one marched solemnly down a vista of enfiladed drawing-rooms (the sea-green, the crimson and the bouton d’or), seeing from afar the many-candled lustres reflected in the polished parquetry […]"
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
direct firedisjointed layoutfrontal fireinterrupted sequence
Example
"Enfilade and defilade are concepts in military tactics used to describe a military formation's exposure to enemy fire."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "enfilade"?
Common synonyms include: flanking fire, aim at, aligned arrangement, barrage, blast, blitz.
How do you use "enfilade" in a sentence?
Enfilade and defilade are concepts in military tactics used to describe a military formation's exposure to enemy fire.
How do you pronounce "enfilade"?
Pronounced /ˌɛnfəlˈeɪd/.
Etymology
Borrowed from French enfilade.