addled

adjective

ad·​dled ˈa-dᵊld 

1

: thrown into confusion : confused

his addled brain/mind

… vainly endeavouring to master some task … which, to the addled brain of the crushed boy of nineteen, was a sealed and hopeless mystery.

—Charles Dickens

2

of an egg : rotten, addle

She was romantic, she was sentimental, she had a passion for little secrets and mysteries—a very innocent passion, for her secrets had hitherto always been as unpractical as addled eggs.

—Henry James

Synonyms of addled

• rotten
• spoiled
• decomposed
• decayed
• corrupted

Examples of addled in a Sentence

addled eggs found on a long abandoned hen's nest

one of the more addled audience members confused Ghana with Guyana

Recent Examples on the Web

In these novels, the main character has been so absurdly addled by a (late-revealed) trauma that everyday human interactions are wildly aglow with (at first) terror or (later) manic-pixie wonder. — Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2026

But this woozy debut feature doesn’t rely on its audience being turned on by the relationship between a nubile caretaker and her dementia-addled patient. — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 9 July 2026

The devices look like something out of an old science fiction movie about the tech-addled dystopian future. — Joy Press, Vanity Fair, 6 July 2026

The bottles of funky unfiltered wine that line the shelves of Apiri Greek Eatery in hip, central Heraklion—Crete’s largest city with a leafy, Venetian history-addled center—are proof. — Shannon McMahon, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

variant of addle entry 1, with the adjective suffix -ed entry 1

First Known Use

1599, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for addled

• paddled
• saddled
• straddled