Ensconce vs Shelter - What's the difference?

In transitive terms the difference between ensconce and shelter

is that ensconce is to place in a secure environment while shelter is to provide cover from damage or harassment; to shield; to protect.

In intransitive terms the difference between ensconce and shelter

is that ensconce is to settle comfortably while shelter is to take cover.

As a noun shelter is

a refuge, haven or other cover or protection from something.

ensconce

English

Verb

To place in a secure environment.

* 1876 , , ch IX,

They found the sharp new heap they were seeking, and ensconced themselves within the protection of three great elms that grew in a bunch within a few feet of the grave.

* '>citation

To settle comfortably.

Major was already ensconced on his bed of straw, under a lantern which hung from a beam.

Usage notes

Particularly used in form ensconced, as in “she was ensconced in an armchair.”

Synonyms

* (settle comfortably) cuddle up

shelter

English

Noun

(en noun)

A refuge, haven or other cover or protection from something.

* {{quote-book, year=1928, author=Lawrence R. Bourne

, title=Well Tackled! , chapter=7 citation , passage=The detective kept them in view. He made his way casually along the inside of the shelter until he reached an open scuttle close to where the two men were standing talking. Eavesdropping was not a thing Larard would have practised from choice, but there were times when, in the public interest, he had to do it, and this was one of them.}}

An institution that provides temporary housing for homeless people, battered women etc.

Derived terms

* bus shelter

Verb

(en verb)

To provide cover from damage or harassment; to shield; to protect.

* Dryden

Those ruins sheltered once his sacred head.

* Southey

You have no convents in which such persons may be received and sheltered .

To take cover.

During the rainstorm, we sheltered under a tree.