Brouiller

Brouiller is a French verb with several related meanings that depend on context. It commonly denotes mixing, blurring, or confusing something, and it also appears in technical and social expressions.

In cooking, brouiller means to beat or mix ingredients vigorously to produce a uniform mass. A typical use is brouiller les œufs to make scrambled eggs; the related noun is œufs brouillés.

In visual or conceptual terms, brouiller can mean to blur or obscure. One might brouiller les images or brouiller les frontières, indicating a reduction of clarity or precision, or to brouiller les pistes, meaning to mislead or distract from the truth.

In information and technology, brouiller is used for interference or distortion of signals. The noun brouillage refers to jamming or electronic interference, and to brouiller les signaux means to disrupt or scramble communications.

In social contexts, se brouiller is a reflexive form meaning to fall out or have a quarrel with someone, as in ils se sont brouillés.

Etymology traces the word to older French forms related to mixing or mixing up, with broad usage expanding over time. Brouiller is therefore a versatile verb bridging cooking, perception, deception, communications, and interpersonal relations.

Common collocations include brouiller les pistes, brouiller les images, brouillage, and se brouiller avec. The term is used across formal and informal registers, with nuances ranging from practical mixing in cooking to metaphorical muddling of information or relationships.