verb
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to make or become confused or muddled
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to make or become rotten
adjective
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of addle
First recorded before 1000; Middle English adel “rotten,” Old English adela “liquid, filth”; cognate with Middle Low German adele “liquid manure”
Explanation
Addle is a verb meaning to confuse. When your great uncle Marvin became infirm in his later years, trying to distinguish between you and your cousins tended to addle his brain. Addle is a Middle English word coming from the Old English adela, meaning “liquid filth.” It’s related to the German adel, meaning “mire or puddle.” In the thirteenth century, addle was used to refer to rotten eggs. Now it's used to describe a confused mind. When someone's mind becomes addled — whether it's from age or love or illness — it’s like the brain is rotten.
Vocabulary lists containing addle
Unit 4: Powerful Openings
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"Rip Van Winkle" by Washington Irving
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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He expected the chemical would addle mitochondria in every organ.
From Science Magazine ● May 4, 2023
They even had the guts as three Olympic rookies to watch old South Korean Olympic victory videos, a part of preparation that might addle some.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 25, 2021
Her putter works just fine from medium to long range; it’s the tiddlers that get her nerves jangling and addle the head.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 3, 2019
The company will also remove nests, transport injured birds to rehabilitation centers and addle the eggs.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 27, 2018
“You’ll addle your brains if you don’t watch out.”
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
He is played with a fine sense of clueless arrogance by Mr. Son, as the character idly practices his golf swing with a precision he fails to bring to his idle and addled mind.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
What rare fruit survived to maturity on these little, addled trees was misshapen, acrid, and stubbornly green on one end; in short, it tasted terrible.
From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026
But, like every addled maniac, his hatred lacks focus.
From Salon ● Jan. 5, 2025
In Japan, I learned that many of the walls that toppled in 2011 had been built after World War II, when the country churned out concrete to spark its addled economy.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 22, 2024
“Harry is as sane as you or I. That scar upon his forehead has not addled his brains. I believe it hurts him when Lord Voldemort is close by, or feeling particularly murderous.”
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
He said social media could create "greater connections and a sense of belonging" but also came with risks including the "harm of addling the developing mind of young people".
From BBC ● Jan. 15, 2026
It is the play itself that lurches and rocks us, addling our expectation of narrative coherence in order to take us inside the sort of experience that can’t be grasped with the mind alone.
From The New Yorker ● Sep. 30, 2019
I can't decide if it is amusing, ironic or horrifying to note that Universities, institutions allegedly dedicated to expanding and improving the mind, principally responsible for addling the brains of their matriculants.
From New York Times ● Jan. 31, 2018
The blaze has been propelled by a heatwave addling much of the nation, in addition to the naturally dry and windy conditions of Southern California's Santa Clarita Valley, the area affected by the fire.
From US News ● Jul. 25, 2016
Even I, her fellow-pilgrim, thought her wits were addling with our penitential fasts and vigils, and did not attempt to join in so mad a chase.
From Spanish Highways and Byways by Katharine Lee Bates
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
