embrouiller

Embrouiller is a French verb that means to confuse, muddle, or entangle, in particular to make something unclear by mixing elements or to complicate a situation. It can also mean to involve someone in a tangle or dispute. The sense ranges from creating confusion in ideas to physically entangling objects such as wires or strands.

Etymology and usage notes: Embrouiller is formed from the verb brouiller with the prefix em-, giving a sense of intensifying the act of mixing or confusing. The word appears in French from the early modern period and is used in both formal and informal contexts. It is typically transitive, taking a direct object (embrouiller quelque chose or embrouiller quelqu’un), but it also has an intransitive reflexive use meaning to become muddled or tangled in one’s own thoughts or in a conversation.

Conjugation basics: Embrouiller is a regular -er verb. Present: j’embrouille, tu embrouilles, il embrouille, nous embrouillons, vous embrouillez, ils embrouillent. Passé composé: j’ai embrouillé. Imperfect: j’embrouillais. Future: j’embrouillerai. Past participle: embrouillé. Present participle: embrouillant. The reflexive form s’embrouiller is used for “to get tangled up” or “to become confused.”

Examples: Des explications contradictoires embrouillent les idées du lecteur. Il m’a embrouillé l’esprit avec ses explications. Il s’est embrouillé les idées en essayant de tout suivre.

See also: brouiller, confusion, confusion.