Ensue

//ɪnˈsuː// verb

verb ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To follow (a leader, inclination etc.). obsolete, transitive

    "to ripenesse of mans state they grew: / Then shewing forth signes of their fathers blood, / They loued armes, and knighthood did ensew, / Seeking aduentures [...]."

  2. 2
    issue or terminate (in a specified way, state, etc.); end wordnet
  3. 3
    To follow (in time), to be subsequent to. obsolete, transitive

    "Oh how many changes are like to ensue this reformation!"

  4. 4
    To occur afterwards, as a result or effect. intransitive

    "Give three freshmen six bottles of wine, and hilarity will ensue."

Synonyms

All synonyms
resultfollowariseattendbecome ofc

Example

More examples

"Tears ensue, / and wailing, shrill as though her heart would bleed."

Etymology

From Old French ensu-, stem of some conjugated forms of ensuivre (“follow close upon, come afterward”) (French ensuivre), from Latin īnsequere, from īnsequi (“to pursue, follow, follow after; come next”), from in- (“upon”) (see in-) + sequi (“follow”) (see sequel).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.