embroiled

American  

[em-broild] / ɛmˈbrɔɪld /

adjective

1. complicated; confused.

   I congratulate you on your skillful diplomacy, which disentangled an embroiled situation to the satisfaction of all.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of embroil.

Other Word Forms

• unembroiled adjective

Etymology

Origin of embroiled

embroil ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Explanation

When you're embroiled in something, you're tangled or mired in it — in other words, you're involved so completely that it's hard to get away from it. You might be embroiled in an argument between two friends, unable to step back and be neutral. Two warring countries might be embroiled in peace talks, or two characters on your favorite TV show could be embroiled in a scandal. In either case, people are tangled in a complicated situation or a serious conflict. The earliest meaning of embroil was "throw into disorder," from the French root embrouillier, "entangle or confuse."

Example Sentences

That company was embroiled in a public-corruption scandal.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026

Fermi is embroiled in a dispute with former CEO Toby Neugebauer, who was fired and now advocates for the company’s sale.

From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026

Ever since the launch of ChatGPT, top artificial-intelligence labs have been embroiled in a cutthroat competition to one-up each other with powerful new features.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 18, 2026

And so had Johnson, a 38-year-old former journalist who turned to social media after being embroiled in plagiarism scandals at BuzzFeed and the Independent Journal Review.

From Salon • Apr. 15, 2026

I particularly feared he would get embroiled in a religious discussion, bring in my Roman Catholicism in a way that could embarrass the Church.

From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin

Related Words

• affected
• concerned
• entangled
• interested
• participating