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
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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
Roberts, Gorsuch, and Barrett’s questioning of Katyal was far friendlier than their grilling of Sauer, who spoke in a frothy jumble of run-on sentences that was often hard to understand.
From Slate • Nov. 5, 2025
They then sent a complicated jumble of computer code and asked me to run it as a command on my work laptop and report back what it said.
From BBC • Sep. 29, 2025
The screen came to life, and I narrowed my eyes at the words as though if I just glared at them hard enough they’d behave and not jumble themselves up like spaghetti.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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.
