jumble
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to mix in a confused mass; put or throw together without order.
You've jumbled up all the cards.
- Antonyms:
- separate
-
to confuse mentally; muddle.
verb (used without object)
-
to be mixed together in a disorderly heap or mass.
-
to meet or come together confusedly.
noun
-
a mixed or disordered heap or mass.
a jumble of paper clips, rubber bands, and string.
-
a confused mixture; medley.
-
a state of confusion or disorder.
- Synonyms:
- chaos, muddle, mess, gallimaufry, farrago, hodgepodge
- Antonyms:
- order
-
Also jumbal a small, round, flat cake or cookie with a hole in the middle.
verb
-
to mingle (objects, papers, etc) in a state of disorder
-
(tr; usually passive) to remember in a confused form; muddle
noun
-
a disordered mass, state, etc
-
articles donated for a jumble sale
-
Also called: jumbal. a small thin cake, usually ring-shaped
Other Word Forms
- jumblement noun
- jumbler noun
- jumblingly adverb
- jumbly adjective
- unjumbled adjective
Etymology
Origin of jumble
1520–30; perhaps blend of joll to bump (now dial.) and tumble
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.
Her remains may lie somewhere beneath the modern-day urban jumble of Mexico City.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 25, 2026
But it instantiates the way the story holds its jumble of optimism and disaster in a firm, two-handed grasp: death and chaos on one side, miracles and blessings on the other.
From Salon • Jan. 8, 2026
So that's what this is, but in reality it's really a jumble of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer's character finally comes into her own.
From BBC • Dec. 13, 2025
The technique of “Train Dreams”—the stylized juxtaposition of images and narration, the kaleidoscopic jumble of anxious memories and pastoral portraits—is not the stuff of an Old West parable.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025
A jumble of broken logs were wedged between the rocks of the rapids, and a moment later Thorn was on top of them.
From "The Wild Robot" by Peter Brown
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.
