Imbroglio meaning

ĭm-brōl'yō
The definition of an imbroglio is an embarrassing and often complex mess or misunderstanding.

When your wife and mistress show up at the same time for a dinner date, this is an example of an imbroglio.

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An involved and confusing situation; state of confusion and complication.
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A confused heap; a tangle.
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A confused heap.
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A confused misunderstanding or disagreement.
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Origin of imbroglio

  • Italian from Old Italian from imbrogliare to tangle, confuse in- in (from Latin in–2) brogliare to mix, stir (probably from Old French brooiller, brouiller broil2)
    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
  • From Italian imbroglio (“tangle”), from imbrogliare (“to tangle”), cognate with and probably from an earlier form of French embrouiller (“muddle, embroil”), from em- (“en-”) + brouiller.
    From Wiktionary

Imbroglio Sentence Examples

  • The curious imbroglio deceived royalists and republicans alike.

  • By sheer tenacity of purpose, Bestuzhev had extricated his country from the Swedish imbroglio; reconciled his imperial mistress with the courts of Vienna and London, her natural allies; enabled Russia to assert herself effectually in Poland, Turkey and Sweden, and isolated the restless king of Prussia by environing him with hostile alliances.

  • He directed the peace negotiations with Spain after the war of 1898, and not only secured American interests in the imbroglio caused by the Boxers in China, but grasped the opportunity to insist on "the administrative entity" of China; influenced the powers to declare publicly for the "open door".

  • The hostile action of Denmark enabled him honourably to emerge from the inglorious Polish imbroglio, and he was certain of the zealous support of his own people.

  • He skilfully avoided entanglement in the Jackson-Calhoun imbroglio.

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Words near imbroglio in the Dictionary