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Cambridge dictionary shows that

To bring sth about - to cause something to happen.
He brought about his company's collapse by his reckless spending.

And

To entail - to make something necessary, or to involve something.
Such a large investment inevitably entails some risk

But when I translate it into my language(I know it's not a good idea), it seems to me, that these words are synonyms. So what is the difference?

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  • what word in Ukrainian are you thinking about?
    – Andrew Tobilko
    Mar 17, 2021 at 16:06
  • 1
    to me, to entail = to involve (тягнути за собою), and to bring sth about = to cause it to happen (вносити, спричиняти)
    – Andrew Tobilko
    Mar 17, 2021 at 16:13
  • 1
    You can't entail a company's collapse. You cause it to collapse, you bring about its collapse and that will entail considerable effort.
    – Lambie
    Mar 17, 2021 at 16:15
  • @AndrewTobilko Anyway, it sounds very simmiliar
    – asd
    Mar 17, 2021 at 16:34
  • In your second one Such a large investment brings with it some risk (but not brings about).
    – mdewey
    Mar 17, 2021 at 16:54

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7

To bring something about actually causes something to happen (it's something that a conscious agent can deliberately do, as well as the possibility of, say, one situation X causing another situation Y).

But entailment doesn't work like that - it's a logical relationship, not something that a conscious agent can actually do. Either Situation X entails Situation Y or it doesn't (and if it does, we're simply saying that IF X happens / is true, THEN Y must also happen / be true).

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