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
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
The company will also remove nests, transport injured birds to rehabilitation centers and addle eggs.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 27, 2018
“You’ll addle your brains if you don’t watch out.”
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
With their shallow root systems, addled by disease, the trees wouldn’t put up much resistance.
From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026
Only one scene really has an impact: Ben runs into a nerd-revolutionary, adorably played by Michael Cera, who seems like a little brother of Leonardo DiCaprio’s addled old radical in “One Battle After Another.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2025
Though he’d been addled by the ailment, he understood that his son had managed to preserve the family business.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2025
But, like every addled maniac, his hatred lacks focus.
From Salon ● Jan. 5, 2025
By the entrance to the compound a few rabbits hopped aimlessly, too addled by their sudden freedom to make a break for it.
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
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
She read feverishly all she could find on the subject, ending by addling her brains to the point of frenzy.
From The Sturdy Oak A composite Novel of American Politics by fourteen American authors by Jordan, Elizabeth Garver
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.
