1
as in rotten
having undergone organic breakdown
addled eggs found on a long abandoned hen's nest
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dazed
suffering from mental confusion
one of the more addled audience members confused Ghana with Guyana
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in bewildered
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
after slipping on the ice, Bethany was so addled that she left her groceries where they'd fallen
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of addled
Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2025
With his brow perennially furrowed and hair slicked with sweat, Riley has the exact look and bearing of a suavely addled wrong-man figure from British thrillers of yore — and thus makes a suitably bemused proxy for the viewers in this wasteland of mounting chaos and absurdity.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 19 Aug. 2025
In a week, nearly 1,000 students will be walking through the doors of Roxbury Prep, a new charter school that looks to be a catalyst for change in a neighborhood marred by the Mass and Cass opioid-addled wasteland.
—Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 19 Aug. 2025
The album lasts a bit over an hour and has peaks and valleys typical of modern rap’s onomatopoeic nature, where verses and choruses float by in a murky, addled stream.
—Mosi Reeves, Rolling Stone, 8 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for addled
Adjective
How the inextricable combinations of lyrical narratives and distortion-addled arrangements served as salient commentaries on authoritarian power and artificial intelligence, as well as science denialism, knee-bending capitulation and unrestrained wealth.
—Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2025
With his brow perennially furrowed and hair slicked with sweat, Riley has the exact look and bearing of a suavely addled wrong-man figure from British thrillers of yore — and thus makes a suitably bemused proxy for the viewers in this wasteland of mounting chaos and absurdity.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 19 Aug. 2025
In a week, nearly 1,000 students will be walking through the doors of Roxbury Prep, a new charter school that looks to be a catalyst for change in a neighborhood marred by the Mass and Cass opioid-addled wasteland.
—Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 19 Aug. 2025
The album lasts a bit over an hour and has peaks and valleys typical of modern rap’s onomatopoeic nature, where verses and choruses float by in a murky, addled stream.
—Mosi Reeves, Rolling Stone, 8 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for addled
Recent Examples of Synonyms for addled
Adjective
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Lit candles, images on paper and a plaster statue of the folk saint Gauchito Gil, flowers in green plastic bottles, simple bouquets of jasmine floating in rotten water inside coffee cans, a lot of plastic flowers to keep the place colorful.—
Mariana Enriquez
October 2,
Literary Hub,
2 Oct. 2025
-
The Karen Read case exposed just how rotten the Bay State justice system can be.—
Boston Herald editorial staff,
Boston Herald,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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With scraggly hair and beard and a dazed countenance of man waking up from an unspeakable dream, Reeves brings the tender vulnerability to his Estragon (aka Gogo).—
Frank Rizzo,
Variety,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Hair disheveled, a dazed and bewildered look in his eyes, the coach trudged into his own dressing room to regroup and get a rundown of a growing list of injuries.—
Mike Jones,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Their party gets spoiled when a CCTV camera operator calls to inform the police.—
Christian Blauvelt,
IndieWire,
30 Sep. 2025
-
Look who the spoiled brats are, relatively speaking.—
Grant Brisbee,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
As Friday’s stabbing incident involving NFL alum Mark Sanchez slowly comes into focus, the team at Fox Sports seems to be just as bewildered as the rest of us.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
5 Oct. 2025
-
Hair disheveled, a dazed and bewildered look in his eyes, the coach trudged into his own dressing room to regroup and get a rundown of a growing list of injuries.—
Mike Jones,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
But the rhetoric has baffled Democrats, who see ER payments as effective and noncontroversial and are unwilling to disavow it.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
2 Oct. 2025
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Fans in the surrounding section can be heard in shock, baffled that the man gave away such a coveted possession.—
Skyler Caruso,
PEOPLE,
25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The decomposed body found in singer D4vd's Tesla at a Los Angeles impound lot was identified as that of a 15-year-old girl.—
Christian Orozco,
NBC news,
18 Sep. 2025
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McCormack’s decomposed body was found in a pink suitcase near Missouri Highway 59 between Lanagan, Missouri, and Noel, Missouri, on July 29, 2019, according to the plea agreement.—
Caroline Zimmerman,
Kansas City Star,
22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Some investors were confused that the draft rules published Wednesday evening still contained references to a foreign ownership cap that was set to be amended.—
Matthew Martin,
semafor.com,
3 Oct. 2025
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On city streets, a confused robotaxi can just pull over.—
Saahil Desai,
The Atlantic,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Reports surfaced claiming that WWE was puzzled by such a low grade, followed by rumors that the company pushed to have Hale fired from his position at ESPN.—
Fernando Quiles Jr,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Sep. 2025
-
Wenhardt stared at his pages, puzzled.—
Jane Bua,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Addled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/addled. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
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