embroil
Syllables: em·broilUK/ɪmˈbɹɔɪl//əmˈbɹɔɪl/
embroil verb: to bring (something) into a state of confusion or uproar; to complicate, to confuse, to jumble.
Verb (1)
embroil (third-person singular simple present embroils, present participle embroiling, simple past and past participle embroiled)
- To bring (something) into a state of confusion or uproar; to complicate, to confuse, to jumble.
- Rumor next and Chance, / And Tumult and Confuſion all imbroild, / And Diſcord with a thouſand various mouths.1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
- Your Enemies had ſo embroyl'd the management of your Office, that they look'd on your Advancement as the Inſtrument of your Ruine.1677 (first performance), John Dryden, “To the Right Honourable Thomas Earl of Danby, Viscount Latimer, and Baron Osborne of Kiveton in Yorkshire, Lord High Treasurer of England, One of His Majesties...
- To cause (someone) to be drawn into or involved in a difficult situation or state of contention.
- Avoid him. He will embroil you in his fights.
- Then vvhen ſhe found her Venom ſpread ſo far, / The Royal Houſe embroil'd in Civil VVar: / Rais'd on her dusky VVings ſhe cleaves the Skies, / And ſeeks the Palace vvhere young Turnus lies.1697, Virgil, “The Seventh Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 417, lines...
Noun
embroil (plural embroils)
- A state of confusion or uproar; a commotion, a disturbance; also, a quarrel.
- A state of anxiety or disturbance of the mind.
Verb (2)
embroil (third-person singular simple present embroils, present participle embroiling, simple past and past participle embroiled)
- To set (something) on fire; to burn (something).
- Indeed if vve vvill be building our Babels, and thus aſſault Omnipotence, 'tis but juſt vve ſhould have our language confounded, and that that knovvledge for vvhich vve boldly attempt to rifle Gods cabinet, ſhould like the Coal from the Altar, ſerve only to embroil and conſume the ſacrilegious...1667, attributed to Richard Allestree, “A Survey of the Causes of Disputes; Secondly, Curiosity”, in The Causes of the Decay of Christian Piety. […], London: […] R. Norton for T. Garthwait, […]...
embroil meaning in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Arabic
embroil in Tamil
- குழப்பம் விளைவி, பூசல் உண்டாக்கு, சூழ்நிலைக்குள் இழு
embroil in Malayalam
- entangle, involve, ensnare
- കെട്ടുപെടുക, ഉൾപ്പെടുക, കുഴയ്ക്കുക, അകപ്പെടുക, വലയിലാകുക, ഉടക്കുക
embroil in Kannada
- ತೊಡಕು ಮಾಡು, ಸಿಕ್ಕು ಮಾಡು, ತೊಡಕಿಗೆ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿಸು, ದ್ವೇಷಕ್ಕೆ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿಸು, ವೈಮನಸ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಈಡುಮಾಡು, ಗೊಂದಲಪಡಿಸು
embroil in Arabic
- to cause (someone) to be drawn into or involved in a difficult situation or state of contention
- وَرَّطَ warraṭa
More languagesFewer languages
- embroil in Persian
- گرفتار کردن gereftâr kardan
Examples of embroil in a sentence
- The former, tho' of a freſher Date, are ſo embroil'd vvith Fable and Legend, that one receives but little Satisfaction from ſearching into 'em.1705, J[oseph] Addison, “Rome”, in Remarks on Several Parts of Italy, &c. in the Years 1701, 1702, 1703, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […]...
- Novv all at once tremendous ſcenes unfold; / Thunder'd the deeps, the ſmoking billovvs roll'd! / Tumultuous vvaves embroil'd the belovving flood, / All trembling, deafen'd, and aghaſt vve ſtood!1725, Homer, “Book XII”, in [William Broome], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], volume III, London: […] Bernard Lintot, →OCLC, page 157...
- Then vvould vve try to ſcan the moral VVorld, / VVhich, tho' to us it ſeems embroil'd, moves on / In higher order; fitted, and impell'd, / By VVisdom's fineſt hand, and iſſuing all / In general Good.a. 1749 (date written), James Thomson, “Winter”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published...
- Buckingham bit his lip, for he saw the introduction of Lady Derby was likely to confuse and embroil every preparation which he had arranged for his defence; […]1822, [Walter Scott], chapter XIII, in Peveril of the Peak. […], volume IV, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst...
Forms of embroil
| Verb | |
|---|---|
| third-person singular present | embroils |
| present participle | embroiling |
| past participle | embroiled |
| past | embroiled |
| second-person singular present (archaic) | embroilest |
| second-person singular past (archaic) | embroiledst |
| third-person singular present (archaic) | embroileth |
| Noun | |
| plural | embroils |
Origin of embroil
PIE word *h₁én The verb is borrowed from French embrouiller (“to entangle”), from em- (a variant of en- (prefix meaning ‘in; into’)) + brouiller (“to confuse, mix up”) (ultimately from Vulgar Latin *brodiculāre, from *brodicāre, from Late Latin brodium (“broth, stew; mixture”), from Frankish *broþ (“broth”), from Proto-Germanic *bruþą (“stock, broth”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrewh₁- (“to boil; to brew”)). The noun is derived from the verb. Cognates * Italian imbrogliare * Spanish embrollar
From em- (a variant of en- (intensifying prefix)) + broil (“to expose to great heat; (obsolete) to burn”) (from Late Middle English broilen, brulen (“to burn; to scorch, singe; (cooking) to broil, grill”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Old French bruler, bruillir, brusler (“to burn”) (modern French brûler), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerw-, *bʰrew- (“to boil; to brew”)).
Words formed from embroil
- embroiling
- disembroil
- embroiled
- embroiler
- embroilment
- re-embroil
- unembroiled
Words that rhyme with embroil
Questions about embroil
- What does embroil mean?
- Embroil means to bring (something) into a state of confusion or uproar; to complicate, to confuse, to jumble.
- What is embroil in Tamil?
- Embroil in Tamil is குழப்பம் விளைவி, பூசல் உண்டாக்கு, சூழ்நிலைக்குள் இழு. See Embroil meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use embroil in a sentence?
- The former, tho' of a freſher Date, are ſo embroil'd vvith Fable and Legend, that one receives but little Satisfaction from ſearching into 'em.
- What part of speech is embroil?
- Embroil can be a verb or a noun.
- How do you pronounce embroil?
- Embroil is pronounced /ɪmˈbɹɔɪl/ (UK).
- What is the past tense of embroil?
- The past tense of embroil is embroiled.
Words near embroil in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: embroil (page history and authors); embroil (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); embroil (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); embroil (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-embroil.ogg.
Cite this entry: “embroil.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/embroil. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.