Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense addles, present participle addling, past tense, past participle addled
verb
If something addles someone's mind or brain, they become confused and unable to think properly.
I suppose the shock had addled his poor old brain. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: confuse, bewilder, mix up, muddle More Synonyms of addle
More Synonyms of addle
addle in British English1
(ˈædəl)
verb
1.
to make or become confused or muddled
2.
to make or become rotten
adjective
3. (in combination)
indicating a confused or muddled state
addle-brained
addle-pated
Word origin
C18: (vb), back formation from addled, from c13 addle rotten, from Old English adela filth; related to dialect German Addel liquid manure
addle in British English2
(ˈædəl)
verb
Northern England dialect
to earn (money or one's living)
Word origin
C13: addlen, from Old Norse öthlask to gain possession of property, from ōthal property
addle in American English
(ˈædəl)
adjective
1.
rotten
said of an egg
2.
muddled; confused
now usually in compounds
addlebrained
verb intransitive, verb transitiveWord forms: ˈaddled or ˈaddling
3.
to make or become rotten
4.
to make or become muddled or confused
Word origin
ME adel in adel-eye, addle-egg, transl. of L ovum urinae, egg of urine, confused form of ovum urinum (a rendering of Gr ourion ōon, wind-egg) < OE adela; akin to MLowG adele, mud
Synonyms of 'addle'
confuse, bewilder, mix up, muddle
go off, turn, spoil, rot
More Synonyms of addle
1 (verb)
I suppose the shock had addled his poor brain.
Synonyms
confuse
Politics just confuses me.
bewilder
The silence from her sister had hurt and bewildered her.
mix up
muddle
Don't talk all at once, you're muddling me.
perplex
problems that perplexed me
fluster
She was calm. Nothing could fluster her.
stupefy
The aim is to shock, upset, stupefy, or just plain scare them.
befuddle
He liked to befuddle his readers.
fuddle
2 (verb)
The heat had addled the milk and the stink made her retch.
Synonyms
go off
Don't eat that! It's gone off!
turn (British, informal)
milk starting to turn in the refrigerator
spoil
Fats spoil by becoming tainted.
rot
The grain will start rotting in the silos.
go bad
turn bad
Additional synonyms
in the sense of befuddle
He liked to befuddle his readers.
Synonyms
confuse,
puzzle,
baffle,
bewilder,
muddle,
daze,
perplex,
mystify,
disorient,
faze,
stupefy,
flummox,
bemuse,
intoxicate
in the sense of bewilder
Definition
to confuse utterly
The silence from her sister had hurt and bewildered her.