imbroglio

noun

im·​bro·​glio im-ˈbrōl-(ˌ)yō 

plural imbroglios

1

a

: an acutely painful or embarrassing misunderstanding

b

: scandal sense 1a

survived the political imbroglio

c

: a violently confused or bitterly complicated altercation : embroilment

America's president and scientific establishment became furiously embroiled with a few writers of popular nature books for children. The imbroglio ended in the rout of the nature writers …

—Matt Cartmill

d

: an intricate or complicated situation (as in a drama or novel)

2

: a confused mass

Did you know?

Imbroglio and embroilment are more than just synonyms; they're also linked through etymology. Both descend from the Middle French verb embrouiller (which has the same meaning as embroil), from the prefix em-, meaning "thoroughly," plus brouiller, meaning "to mix" or "to confuse." (Brouiller is itself a descendant of an Old French word for "broth.") Early in the 17th century, English speakers began using embroil, a direct adaptation of embrouiller, as well as the noun embroilment. Meanwhile, the Italians were using their own alteration of embrouiller: imbrogliare, meaning "to entangle." In the mid-18th century, English speakers embraced the Italian noun imbroglio as well.

Synonyms of imbroglio

• dispute
• controversy
• altercation
• quarrel
• disagreement
• argument
• fight
• bicker

Examples of imbroglio in a Sentence

a celebrated imbroglio involving some big names in the New York literary scene

Recent Examples on the Web

The entire imbroglio spawned countless memes and mockery and put a national spotlight, for a few days, on the former colleagues. —Adam Carlson, PEOPLE, 8 Sep. 2025

The dozens of lawsuits that followed had been entangled in legal imbroglios about how to interpret the untested law. —Nora Gamez Torres, Miami Herald, 8 Sep. 2025

Recounting the history of the casino imbroglio, Marshall wrote that the 2018 statewide ballot issue that became Amendment 100 authorized casino gambling licenses in Crittenden, Garland, Jefferson and Pope counties. —Arkansas Online, 28 Aug. 2025

These people online have also said that the Owens family has long lived way beyond their means, while Ronn Owens and Jan Black should take responsibility for enabling their daughter’s costly legal imbroglios with these different men, who also have faced harm to their reputations in the process. —Martha Ross, Mercury News, 22 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Italian, from imbrogliare to entangle, from Middle French embrouiller — more at embroil

First Known Use

1750, in the meaning defined at sense 2

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