Skip to content

incatenare

to chain up, to shackle

verb een-kah-teh-NAH-reh Rare

Also means

to tie down, to bind

Usage Note

Incatenare literally means to fasten with chains (catene): incatenare un cane ('to chain up a dog'). Figuratively it means to bind or hold someone captive: incatenato dalla paura ('chained by fear'). The reflexive incatenarsi is used for protest actions — activists si incatenano to gates or railings. Conjugates with avere in compound tenses.

Examples

"I manifestanti si sono incatenati al cancello."

Natural Translation

The protesters chained themselves to the gate.

Free starter pack

Building your Italian vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common Italian words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Explore Italian by topic