Standard Lemma guide

imbroglio

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ɪmˈbɹəʊljəʊ/
  • General-American: /ɪmˈbɹoʊljoʊ/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -əʊljəʊ
  • CMU ARPABET: IH2 M B R OW1 L Y OW2 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A complicated situation; an entanglement.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a very embarrassing misunderstanding

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: misinterpretation, misunderstanding, mistaking

3

noun

Meaning 3

an intricate and confusing interpersonal or political situation

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: embroilment

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: situation

History

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian imbroglio (“tangle, entanglement, muddle”) (im-, alternative form of in- (prefix forming verbs denoting derivation) + broglio (“confusion; intrigue, fraud, rigging, stuffing”); see also imbrogliare (“to tangle”)), cognate with and probably from an earlier form of French embrouiller (“to embroil, muddle”) (em- (“em-”), a form of en- (“en-”, prefix meaning ‘caused’) + brouiller (“to confuse, mix up”)). Doublet of embroil.

Across languages

Translations

17 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: бъркотия (bǎrkotija) — complicated situation, entanglement
  • Bulgarian: безредие (bezredie) — complicated situation, entanglement
  • Czech: spletitá situace — complicated situation, entanglement
  • Czech: komplikovaná situace — complicated situation, entanglement
  • Dutch: kluwen — complicated situation, entanglement
  • French: embrouille — complicated situation, entanglement
  • French: sac de nœuds — complicated situation, entanglement
  • Greek: εμπλοκή (emplokí) — complicated situation, entanglement
  • Hungarian: bonyodalom — complicated situation, entanglement
  • Irish: cíor thuathail — complicated situation, entanglement
  • Irish: gírle guairle — complicated situation, entanglement
  • Italian: imbroglio — complicated situation, entanglement
  • Japanese: 縺れ (motsure) — complicated situation, entanglement
  • Macedonian: збрка (zbrka) — complicated situation, entanglement
  • Portuguese: imbróglio — complicated situation, entanglement
  • Sicilian: mmrogghiu — complicated situation, entanglement
  • Spanish: embrollo — complicated situation, entanglement