addle
1 of 2adjective
ad·dle ˈa-dᵊl 
1
of an egg : rotten
2
: confused
addle
2 of 2verb
addled; addling ˈad-liŋ
ˈa-dᵊl-iŋ
transitive verb
: to throw into confusion : confound
intransitive verb
1
: to become rotten : spoil
2
: to become confused
Synonyms
Adjective
- addled
- addlepated
- bedeviled
- befogged
- befuddled
- bemused
- bewildered
- bushed [chiefly Australian]
- confounded
- confused
- dazed
- distracted
- dizzy
- dopey
- dopy
- fogged
- mixed-up
- muddleheaded
- muzzy
- pixilated
- pixillated
- punch-drunk
- punchy
- raddled
- shell-shocked
- silly
- slaphappy
- spaced-out
- spaced
- spacey
- spacy
- stunned
- stupefied
- zonked
- zonked-out
Verb
- baffle
- bamboozle
- beat
- befog
- befuddle
- bemuse
- bewilder
- buffalo
- confound
- confuse
- discombobulate
- disorient
- flummox
- fox
- fuddle
- get
- gravel
- maze
- muddle
- muddy
- mystify
- perplex
- pose
- puzzle
- vex
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Adjective my brain grew more and more addle as I made my way through the tax instructions Verb It's a dangerous poison that's strong enough to addle the brain. Their brains were addled with fear.
Recent Examples on the Web
Ryan Cooper, The Week, 8 Nov. 2021 Soon enough, the foursome are in the back of that truck in an adventure that begins as a moneymaking scheme and promises to become a heroic journey into the heart of white supremacy at its most virulent and addle-minded. Ann Hornaday, Twin Cities, 25 July 2019 Ariana Romero, refinery29.com, 20 Apr. 2020 Erich von Stroheim stars in this eerie low-budget thriller, as a vaudeville marksman whose aim is addled by lust for his young assistant (Mary Beth Hughes). Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 10 Apr. 2020 But many others saw the 82-year-old president -- addled by a stroke in 2013 and rarely seen in public -- as a front for shadowy coalition of military, intelligence and business leaders who effectively run the country. Washington Post, 18 Apr. 2019 Chicken on a Raft hoards your attention without brain-addling tricks. Popular Mechanics Editors, Popular Mechanics, 1 Nov. 2019 Some intricacies lay beyond me—a hazy blur of literature about floating exchange rates and reserve currencies addled my brain. Zach Helfand, The New Yorker, 20 Aug. 2019 Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Destiny is soon taking part in one of Ramona’s fishing schemes, serving their clients a memory-addling cocktail of ketamine and MDMA and then stealthily palming and maxing out their credit cards. Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2019 Our public servants should do what’s needed to bring the park into environmental balance and try to keep it that way by addling goose eggs every year. Dp Opinion, The Denver Post, 10 July 2019 And now the web-addled among us can pay to have the internet taken away from us, in some form of retreat. Carrie Battan, Harper's BAZAAR, 26 July 2018 See More
Adjective
Other leaders were very bad (looking at you, Anders Tegnell) but nobody else in rich countries matched Trump's combination of maliciousness and addle-brained incompetence. Ryan Cooper, The Week, 8 Nov. 2021 Soon enough, the foursome are in the back of that truck in an adventure that begins as a moneymaking scheme and promises to become a heroic journey into the heart of white supremacy at its most virulent and addle-minded. Ann Hornaday, Twin Cities, 25 July 2019 Verb
Instead, cocaine-addled Rafe (Drew Starkey) — brother to John B.’s girlfriend Sarah (Madelyn Cline) — is the true killer. Ariana Romero, refinery29.com, 20 Apr. 2020 Erich von Stroheim stars in this eerie low-budget thriller, as a vaudeville marksman whose aim is addled by lust for his young assistant (Mary Beth Hughes). Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 10 Apr. 2020 But many others saw the 82-year-old president -- addled by a stroke in 2013 and rarely seen in public -- as a front for shadowy coalition of military, intelligence and business leaders who effectively run the country. Washington Post, 18 Apr. 2019 Chicken on a Raft hoards your attention without brain-addling tricks. Popular Mechanics Editors, Popular Mechanics, 1 Nov. 2019 Some intricacies lay beyond me—a hazy blur of literature about floating exchange rates and reserve currencies addled my brain. Zach Helfand, The New Yorker, 20 Aug. 2019 Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Destiny is soon taking part in one of Ramona’s fishing schemes, serving their clients a memory-addling cocktail of ketamine and MDMA and then stealthily palming and maxing out their credit cards. Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2019 Our public servants should do what’s needed to bring the park into environmental balance and try to keep it that way by addling goose eggs every year. Dp Opinion, The Denver Post, 10 July 2019 And now the web-addled among us can pay to have the internet taken away from us, in some form of retreat. Carrie Battan, Harper's BAZAAR, 26 July 2018 See More Word History
Etymology
Adjective
Middle English adel- (in adel eye "putrid egg"), attributive use of Old English adela "filth, filthy or foul-smelling place," going back to Germanic *adela-, *adelōn- (whence Middle Dutch ael "liquid manure," Middle Low German ādel, ādele, Middle High German —east Upper German— adel, regional Swedish adel, al "animal urine"), of obscure origin
Verb
probably back-formation from addled
First Known Use
Adjective
1682, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1652, in the meaning defined at transitive sense
Kids Definition
addle
verb
ad·dle ˈa-dᵊl
addled; addling
: to make or become confused
She was addled by the many detours.
addling
verb
as in baffling
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty after slipping on the ice, Bethany was so addled that she left her groceries where they'd fallen Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- baffling
- puzzling
- perplexing
- bewildering
- confusing
- rattling
- flustering
- fuddling
- bamboozling
- mystifying
- muddling
- befuddling
- graveling
- confounding
- bothering
- getting
- muddying
- vexing
- disorienting
- posing
- flummoxing
- beating
- discombobulating
- disturbing
- befogging
- embarrassing
- gravelling
- bemusing
- upsetting
- mazing
- unsettling
- buffaloing
- foxing
- stumping
- sticking
- stunning
- distressing
- agitating
- disconcerting
- blowing one's mind
- going to one's head
- discountenancing
- tricking
- mortifying
- gulling
- unhinging
- perturbing
- fooling
- discomfiting
- deluding
- humbugging
- abashing
- discomposing
- deceiving
- duping
- disquieting
- hoodwinking
- fazing
- discomforting
- cozening
- dismaying
- misguiding
- beguiling
- misleading
- hoaxing
- taking in
- snowing
- chagrining
- stringing along
- nonplussing
- weirding out
- nonplusing
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- assuring
- informing
- satisfying
- reassuring
- enlightening