embroil
Americanverb (used with object)
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to bring into discord or conflict; involve in contention or strife.
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to throw into confusion; complicate.
verb
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to involve (a person, oneself, etc) in trouble, conflict, or argument
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to throw (affairs) into a state of confusion or disorder; complicate; entangle
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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embroilsimple
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embroilssimple
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have embroiledperfect
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has embroiledperfect
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am embroilingprogressive
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are embroilingprogressive
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is embroilingprogressive
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have been embroilingperfect progressive
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has been embroilingperfect progressive
Past
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embroiledsimple
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had embroiledperfect
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was embroilingprogressive
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were embroilingprogressive
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had been embroilingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of embroil
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Middle French embrouiller, equivalent to em- em- 1 + brouiller “to quarrel”; see broil 2
Explanation
To embroil is to drag someone into a mess. If you're embroiled, you're in deep. Being embroiled is far worse, far messier, and generally far more long-term, than simply being "involved" with something. Nothing good can come of being embroiled. Embroil can refer to any sort of situation — romantic entanglements, political events, scandals — but it's probably most commonly used in reference to lawsuits. The classic lawsuit that embroiled its participants was the fictional case of Jarndyce. v. Jarndyce, in Dickens's novel Bleak House — which went on for so many generations that all the characters' money was eaten up entirely by lawyers' fees. Let us repeat: nothing good comes of getting embroiled.
Vocabulary lists containing embroil
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Grade 12, List 2
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Fast Food Nation
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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:
Those investments, experts say, help prevent regional conflict and war that may embroil the U.S.
From Salon ● May 29, 2025
Desperate not to embroil a small, vulnerable immigrant community in an intense national controversy, they tried to avoid the issue.
From Slate ● Apr. 10, 2025
Investors were on guard for the potential of the conflict spreading to embroil other countries, including Iran, and a continued spike in oil prices.
From Reuters ● Oct. 9, 2023
The tail-docking blowup is just the latest controversy to embroil the company.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 20, 2023
While all these preparations were going on, there was an incident in Havana which threatened seriously to embroil Spain with the United States.
From The History of Cuba, vol. 3 by Johnson, Willis Fletcher
Milking the quirks of small-town life and the strange workings of faith and superstition, “The Unknown Saint” embroils a cast of droll, deadpan characters in amusing high jinks.
From New York Times ● Jul. 30, 2021
"Because it embroils us in a legal discussion," Mueller said.
From Fox News ● Jul. 24, 2019
Her death remains a mystery that still embroils some of the most storied figures in this city’s imaginary golden age of intrigue and glamour.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 7, 2017
The case that has gotten the greatest attention embroils Benedict himself.
From Time ● Mar. 19, 2010
In this humiliating condition of our nature the sovereignty of reason is deposed: Chaos umpire sits, And by decision more embroils the fray.
From Thoughts on Man, His Nature, Productions and Discoveries Interspersed with Some Particulars Respecting the Author by Godwin, William
The incident spurred Michigan to ask law firm Jenner & Block to investigate the culture inside an athletic department that had been embroiled in a string of scandals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Coincidentally, Harper became embroiled in that lawsuit, in which the plaintiffs pointed to images of Harper’s face on the DraftKings app as evidence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
And to be an American is to be embroiled in the great democratic experiment that has been defined by division from the beginning.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
But he was subsequently embroiled in a number of controversies.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
On the scientific side, Galileo had scarcely got settled in Bellosguardo when he became embroiled in a new controversy.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
The 1MDB scandal made headlines across the world when it came to light a decade ago, embroiling prominent figures from Malaysia to Goldman Sachs and Hollywood.
From BBC ● Dec. 26, 2025
But her ability to manage her finances is not your responsibility, and we risk embroiling you further in her emotional blackmail and psychological pinball machine by discussing her money troubles.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2025
The case was one of many legal fights currently embroiling Mr. Musk and X. The company is suing a law firm that represented it before Mr. Musk’s ownership, claiming that it collected unreasonably high fees.
From New York Times ● Mar. 25, 2024
But Johnson and Issa disagreed on the details of how to fix the problem, embroiling the subcommittee in the same debates that have stymied action on this matter for decades.
From Slate ● Feb. 24, 2021
Placed between the necessity of offending his new subjects or embroiling himself with the German powers, Christian chose the remoter evil and, on the 18th of November, the new constitution became law.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 2 "Demijohn" to "Destructor" by Various
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.
