verb
addle
AD-ul/ˈædl/
To make someone's mind confused.
The constant noise threatens to addle my already tired brain.
Etymology
The ancestor meant mud or liquid filth. Through “addle egg,” meaning a rotten egg, addle acquired the sense “spoiled,” then figuratively “muddled or unsound”—the connection behind confusing someone's thinking.
More examples
- A sleepless night addled his concentration.
- Those contradictory instructions are addling everyone in the office.
- Nothing addles her more than several people talking at once.
Forms
addle · addles · addled · addling
Similar words
- confuse
- The broader, more usual word for making understanding difficult.
- befuddle
- Similarly informal, with emphasis on mental muddling or bewilderment.