Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To take place afterward or as a result. synonym: follow.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To follow or follow after; pursue.
  • To come after; move behind in the same direction; follow.
  • To follow in order, or in a train of events or course of time; succeed; come after.
  • To follow as a consequence; result, as from premises.
  • Synonyms and Succeed, etc. (see follow); to arise, proceed, spring, result.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To follow or come afterward; to follow as a consequence or in chronological succession; to result
  • transitive verb obsolete To follow; to pursue; to follow and overtake.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb obsolete To follow (a leader, inclination etc.).
  • verb To occur afterwards, as a result or effect.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb issue or terminate (in a specified way, state, etc.); end

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English ensuen, from Old French ensuivre, ensu-, from Vulgar Latin *īnsequere, from Latin īnsequī, to follow closely : in-, intensive pref.; see en– + sequī, to follow; see sekw- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Late 14c., from Old French ensu-, preposition stem of ensivre ("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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Examples

  • A windfall profits tax is exactly how it sounds; it is a higher tax rate on profits that ensue from a sudden windfall gain to a particular company.

    Ah, gerrymandering. | RedState 2010

  • The very same "predictions" ensue from a theoretic holding that life evolves primarily through telic design.

    Beckwith on ID 2008

  • Joy: The very same "predictions" ensue from a theoretic holding that life evolves primarily through telic design.

    Beckwith on ID 2008

  • Attacking Iran will finish off the U.S. empire — not that Iran could kill the USA, but the chaos that will ensue is going to be the final straw that kills the economically-sick USA.

    Protesting HCR 362 at Nancy Pelosi’s House « Antiwar.com Blog 2008

  • Joy: The very same "predictions" ensue from a theoretic holding that life evolves primarily through telic design.

    Beckwith on ID 2008

  • “If a particular cause, like the accidental result of a battle, has ruined a state,” wrote Montesquieu in considering the role of chance and contingency in the Roman case, “there was a general cause that made the downfall of this state ensue from a single battle.”

    Imperial Follies 2007

  • Avoiding incidents like the one that was about to ensue is no doubt an unspoken reason as well.

    A Sad Tale of the Drunk and Idiotic in Wine Country 2007

  • “If a particular cause, like the accidental result of a battle, has ruined a state,” wrote Montesquieu in considering the role of chance and contingency in the Roman case, “there was a general cause that made the downfall of this state ensue from a single battle.”

    Imperial Follies 2007

  • “If a particular cause, like the accidental result of a battle, has ruined a state,” wrote Montesquieu in considering the role of chance and contingency in the Roman case, “there was a general cause that made the downfall of this state ensue from a single battle.”

    Imperial Follies 2007

  • It's standard scientific procedure to consider the consequences which logically ensue from a proposed hypothesis.

    Creationism, defined 2006

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