embroil

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. verb force into some kind of situation, condition, or course of action

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

In classic literature

Synonyms

tangle, sweep, sweep up, drag, drag in

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