embroil

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French embrouiller.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɪmˈbɹɔɪl/
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -ɔɪəl, -ɔɪl

Verb

embroil (third-person singular simple present embroils, present participle embroiling, simple past and past participle embroiled)

  1. To draw into a situation; to cause to be involved.
    Avoid him. He will embroil you in his fights.
    • 1697, Virgil, “(please specify the book number)”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. [], London: [] Jacob Tonson, [], →OCLC:
      the royal house embroil'd in civil war
    • 2016 January 31, “Is Huma Abedin Hillary Clinton’s Secret Weapon or Her Next Big Problem?”, in Vanity Fair:
      Whether it’s palatable for the vice-chairman of Hillary’s presidential campaign to be embroiled in allegations of conflicts of interest, obtaining patronage jobs, or misrepresenting time worked remains to be seen.
    • 2020 November 1, Alan Young, “Sean Connery obituary: From delivering milk in Fountainbridge to the definitive James Bond”, in The Scotsman:
      He hated the idea of being manipulated by the film industry and was regularly embroiled in lawsuits.
  2. To implicate in confusion; to complicate; to jumble.
    • 1705, J[oseph] Addison, Remarks on Several Parts of Italy, &c. in the Years 1701, 1702, 1703, London: [] Jacob Tonson, [], →OCLC:
      The Christian antiquities at Rome [] are so embroiled with fable and legend.

Derived terms

Translations

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