imbroglio

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imbroglio

/ɪmˈbɹəʊljəʊ/ UK
/ɪmˈbɹoʊljoʊ/ US

Rhymes with -əʊljəʊ

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Italian imbroglio (“tangle, entanglement, muddle”) (im-, alternative form of in- (prefix forming verbs denoting derivation) + broglio (“confusion; intrigue, fraud, rigging, stuffing”); see also imbrogliare (“to tangle”)), cognate with and probably from an earlier form of French embrouiller (“to embroil, muddle”) (em- (“em-”), a form of en- (“en-”, prefix meaning ‘caused’) + brouiller (“to confuse, mix up”)). Doublet of embroil.

noun imbroglios · imbrogli

A complicated situation; an entanglement. Into the drawers and china pry, / Papers and books, a huge imbroglio! / Under a tea-cup he might lie, / Or creased, like dogs-ears, in a folio.
Similar: snarl

Translations

Every language

noun complicated situation, entanglement

Español	embrollo
日本語	縺れ motsure
Português	imbróglio
Français	embrouille, sac de nœuds
Italiano	imbroglio
Ελληνικά	εμπλοκή emplokí

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Cite this

MLA

"imbroglio." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/imbroglio. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

imbroglio. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/imbroglio

Chicago

"imbroglio." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/imbroglio.

BibTeX

@misc{imbroglio_2026,
  title = {imbroglio},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/imbroglio},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}