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

And yet, the through-line of its main character's desperation connects Kill List's shifting tones, following a PTSD-addled war veteran's attempts to provide for his family by accepting his friend's offer to team up on a high-paying contract killing job. —Eric Farwell, Entertainment Weekly, 12 June 2026

Her fiction concentrates thematically upon the emotional and psychological currents traversing the bonds across lineages — whether those connections are well-wrought, addled, severed, or unknown — and the fraught business of familial inheritance. —Rachel Vorona Cote, Vulture, 2 June 2026

Only a steroid-addled rival, Pavel, dares to question Jim’s position. —Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 17 May 2026

But layered into the over-the-top violence is a powerful character study of a PTSD-addled veteran who has lost nearly everything. —Jordan Moreau, Variety, 13 May 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