embroil

/ɪmˈbɹɔɪl/

//ɪmˈbɹɔɪl// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"embroil" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“embroil” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To bring (something) into a state of confusion or uproar; to complicate, to confuse, to jumble.

Corpus desk

Index EN-embroil · embroil · English

embroil · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "E" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for embroil
PropertyValue
Headwordembroil
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɪmˈbɹɔɪl/
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “embroil” sits in English frequency

embroilsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

embroil is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ɪmˈbɹɔɪl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

embroil has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: PIE word *h₁én The verb is borrowed from French embrouiller (“to entangle”), from em- (a variant of en- (prefix meaning ‘in; into’)) + brouiller (“to confuse, mix up”) (ultimately from Vulgar Latin *brodiculāre, from *brodicāre, from Late Latin brodium (“b… The correct English form is embroil, spelled E-M-B-R-O-I-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    To bring (something) into a state of confusion or uproar; to complicate, to confuse, to jumble.
  2. 2
    To cause (someone) to be drawn into or involved in a difficult situation or state of contention.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how embroil appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Rumor next and Chance, / And Tumult and Confuſion all imbroild, / And Diſcord with a thouſand various mouths.
  2. Your Enemies had ſo embroyl'd the management of your Office, that they look'd on your Advancement as the Inſtrument of your Ruine.

Etymology

PIE word *h₁én The verb is borrowed from French embrouiller (“to entangle”), from em- (a variant of en- (prefix meaning ‘in; into’)) + brouiller (“to confuse, mix up”) (ultimately from Vulgar Latin *brodiculāre, from *brodicāre, from Late Latin brodium (“broth, stew; mixture”), from Frankish *broþ (“broth”), from Proto-Germanic *bruþą (“stock, broth”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrewh₁- (“to boil; to brew”)). The noun is derived from the verb. Cognates * Italian imbrogliare * Spanish embrollar

This word in other languages

enredar(Español)embourber(Français)verwickeln(Deutsch)envolver(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "embroil"?
"embroil" is spelled E-M-B-R-O-I-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪmˈbɹɔɪl/.
What does "embroil" mean?
As a verb, "embroil" means: To bring (something) into a state of confusion or uproar; to complicate, to confuse, to jumble.
How do you pronounce "embroil"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "embroil" is /ɪmˈbɹɔɪl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "embroil"?
PIE word *h₁én The verb is borrowed from French embrouiller (“to entangle”), from em- (a variant of en- (prefix meaning ‘in; into’)) + brouiller (“to confuse, mix up”) (ultimately from Vulgar Latin *brodiculāre, from *brodicāre, from Late Latin b... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

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Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list