embroil
Americanverb (used with object)
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embroils,
present (3rd person singular)
-
embroiled,
past participle, past
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embroiling
present participle
-
to bring into discord or conflict; involve in contention or strife.
-
to throw into confusion; complicate.
verb
-
to involve (a person, oneself, etc) in trouble, conflict, or argument
-
to throw (affairs) into a state of confusion or disorder; complicate; entangle
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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embroilsimple
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embroilssimple
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have embroiledperfect
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has embroiledperfect
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am embroilingprogressive
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are embroilingprogressive
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is embroilingprogressive
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have been embroilingperfect progressive
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has been embroilingperfect progressive
Past
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embroiledsimple
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had embroiledperfect
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was embroilingprogressive
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were embroilingprogressive
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had been embroilingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of embroil
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Middle French embrouiller, equivalent to em- em- 1 + brouiller “to quarrel”; see broil 2
Explanation
To embroil is to drag someone into a mess. If you're embroiled, you're in deep. Being embroiled is far worse, far messier, and generally far more long-term, than simply being "involved" with something. Nothing good can come of being embroiled. Embroil can refer to any sort of situation — romantic entanglements, political events, scandals — but it's probably most commonly used in reference to lawsuits. The classic lawsuit that embroiled its participants was the fictional case of Jarndyce. v. Jarndyce, in Dickens's novel Bleak House — which went on for so many generations that all the characters' money was eaten up entirely by lawyers' fees. Let us repeat: nothing good comes of getting embroiled.
Vocabulary lists containing embroil
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Grade 12, List 2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The concerts at MetLife Stadium would later embroil Sheeran, his tour, Macklemore — and somehow pop star Pink — in controversy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
Those investments, experts say, help prevent regional conflict and war that may embroil the U.S.
From Salon ● May 29, 2025
Desperate not to embroil a small, vulnerable immigrant community in an intense national controversy, they tried to avoid the issue.
From Slate ● Apr. 10, 2025
The revelation of an attempt to interfere over the penalty decision is the latest in a series of controversies to embroil Ben Sulayem since being elected in December 2021.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2024
To embroil ourselves with strong powers was to court disaster, while even to interest ourselves in European politics would divert our mind from our own imperative task.
From American World Policies by Walter E. Weyl
Milking the quirks of small-town life and the strange workings of faith and superstition, “The Unknown Saint” embroils a cast of droll, deadpan characters in amusing high jinks.
From New York Times ● Jul. 30, 2021
"Because it embroils us in a legal discussion," Mueller said.
From Fox News ● Jul. 24, 2019
Her death remains a mystery that still embroils some of the most storied figures in this city’s imaginary golden age of intrigue and glamour.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 7, 2017
The case that has gotten the greatest attention embroils Benedict himself.
From Time ● Mar. 19, 2010
We have received the Sangleys in their place, with whom the profit of the traffic always embroils us.
Nearly four years ago, the newlyweds and their journalist exes — also recent newlyweds — were embroiled in scandal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
But the league soon became embroiled in thorny public spats.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
Vance is clearly embroiled in a lifelong struggle with a common ailment of self-serious men who consider themselves profound geniuses.
From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2026
Singer Ellie Goulding features on the front page of the Daily Mirror, which reports that she posed "in pink diamonds from a mine embroiled in a pollution scandal".
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
Out in these streets people were embroiled in a thousand matters, money problems, love problems, school problems.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
The 1MDB scandal brought down his government and made headlines around the world when it came to light a decade ago, embroiling prominent figures from Malaysia to Goldman Sachs and Hollywood.
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2026
But her ability to manage her finances is not your responsibility, and we risk embroiling you further in her emotional blackmail and psychological pinball machine by discussing her money troubles.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2025
He cannot walk on the beach without embroiling himself in national controversy.
From Slate ● May 17, 2025
The case was one of many legal fights currently embroiling Mr. Musk and X. The company is suing a law firm that represented it before Mr. Musk’s ownership, claiming that it collected unreasonably high fees.
From New York Times ● Mar. 25, 2024
With the fate of a nation and the probable embroiling of all Europe hanging on the outcome, forty-eight hours was a time too brief for proper consideration.
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
