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

• 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 Black Rabbit, Bateman plays Vince, the addiction-addled brother of Jude Law’s restaurateur, Jake. —Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 20 Sep. 2025

In this more serious-minded (and Madea-free) movie from Perry, Idris Elba plays Monty, a hard-working father who loses custody of his daughters to his drug-addled wife (Tasha Smith). —Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Sep. 2025

Noah is a debt-addled, nerdy middle-aged who feels totally emasculated by his inability to get a project off the ground. —Sam Bodrojan, IndieWire, 11 Sep. 2025

In fact, all six of this year’s contenders are first-time Emmy nominees, including Deirdre O’Connell, who played Oz Cobb’s addled mother Francis on HBO’s The Penguin, and Ruth Negga, for playing Rusty’s wife Barbara on Apple TV+’s Presumed Innocent. —Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 28 Aug. 2025

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