imbroglio
3
9.8
- noun
- /ɪmˈbroʊljoʊ/
:
embrollo
- The negotiations fell apart, creating an imbroglio that affected both parties badly.
- a political imbroglio
Examples
-
After the imbroglio, one staff member observed, "John Major's classless society will never happen in England!"
Academic text (1999) -
After the failure of the project, the team found themselves in an imbroglio that they struggled to resolve.
-
There was a solution to his imbroglio.
Fiction book (1996) -
The imbroglio over at the Commission Formerly Known as the State Ethics Commission continues.
Blog text (21) -
The intensifying political imbroglio in the Middle East
Academic text (1993) -
The three-year imbroglio over energy policy constantly highlighted this split.
Academic text (1997) -
The Benghazi angle may help bring the "why" of this whole imbroglio into sharper focus.
Blog text (22) -
Although no good purpose is served by dwelling on the responsibility of both Russia and the United States for the tragic imbroglio in Georgia last August, their differences need to be placed in a more global perspective.
Academic text (2009) -
As defense minister, Sharon presided over the 1982 Lebanon War, and many Israelis consider him responsible for the subsequent imbroglio.
Academic text (2007) -
Questions about the meaning and limitations of loyalty to the president were raised anew by the recent legal and political imbroglio in Washington arising out of President Clinton's sexual misconduct.
Academic text (1999)
Synonyms
25
7.9
A difficult situation that is hard to escape or solve
4
3.7
A difficult situation that is hard to deal with
1
9.9
A confusing, chaotic situation with many mixed-up parts
A difficult, confusing situation that involves conflict, often between people or in politics
A confused mixture of things that makes a mess
A small unexpected argument or problem that makes people feel embarrassed
Antonyms
How Complicated
Surface Forms
Etymology
Imbroglio comes from Italian and originally meant 'a tangle'. A helpful way to remember it is to picture a ball of string with everything knotted together, which shows why an imbroglio is a confused, complicated, or embarrassing situation.