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addle

verb · adjective · noun

Simple meaning

To make or become addled.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

aduhl

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈædəl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. To make or become addled; to muddle or confuse.

  2. Become rotten

  3. To cause fertilised eggs to lose viability, by killing the developing embryo within through shaking, piercing, freezing or oiling, without breaking the shell.

adjective

  1. Having lost the power of development, and become rotten; putrid.

  2. by extension

    Unfruitful or confused; muddled.

noun

  1. An unwise or intellectually impaired person.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Typical Use
Rare

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

addle pateaddle hilladdle letteraddle parliamentaddle egg

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • addle-headnounCompound term

    A person with confused ideas.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.