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addle

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈædəl/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˈædəl/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(ad′l)

Inflections of 'addle' (v): (⇒ conjugate)
addles
v 3rd person singular
addling
v pres p
addled
v past
addled
v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
ad•dle /ˈædəl/USA pronunciation   v., -dled, -dling. 
  1. to make confused:[~ + object]a brain addled by drugs.
  2. [no object] to become rotten, as eggs.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
ad•dle  (ad′l),USA pronunciation v., -dled, -dling, adj. 
v.t., v.i. 
  1. to make or become confused.
  2. to make or become rotten, as eggs.

adj. 
  1. mentally confused;
    muddled.
  2. rotten:addle eggs.
  • bef. 1000; Middle English adel rotten, Old English adela liquid, filth; cognate with Middle Low German adele liquid manure

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
addle /ˈædəl/ vb
  1. to make or become confused or muddled
  2. to make or become rotten
 adj
  1. (in combination) indicating a confused or muddled state: addle-brained, addle-pated
Etymology: 18th Century: (vb), back formation from addled, from c13 addle rotten, from Old English adela filth; related to dialect German Addel liquid manure
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'addle' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
addlebrained - addlepated - perturb

🗣️Forum discussions with the word(s) "addle" in the title:


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