Make Your Point: IMBROGLIO

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pronounce IMBROGLIO:

im BROLE yo

Notice that the G is silent.

connect this word to others:

(Source)

Imagine you and your neighbor became good friends, going on regular walks and having heart-to-hearts, and you still don't know their name? You'd be in an imbroglio: an uncomfortable, often embarrassing situation.

In other words, an imbroglio is a jam, a pickle, a tangle, a tight spot, or if you prefer a more serious word, a qu___ary or a qu___ire.

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

We took "imbroglio" straight from Italian, where it means "a tangle, an entanglement, a confusion." It's likely related to our words "broil" and "embroilment."

The poet Thomas Gray may have first brought "imbroglio" into English. Here's a snippet from his 1753 book of poems:

Each hole and cupboard they explore.
Each creek and cranny of his chamber...
Into the Drawers and China pry,
Papers and books, a huge Imbroglio!
Under a tea-cup he might lie,
Or creased, like dog-ears, in a folio.

As you can tell from that example, an imbroglio is a pile of stuff all jumbled together.

That's still how we use the word in English: an imbroglio is either a messy, confusing heap of stuff or, in a figurative sense, it's a messy, confusing situation, often one that's embarrassing and public.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

It's a noun, the countable kind: "In Twelfth Night, Viola disguises herself as a man, dragging her boss and his crush into an imbroglio."

Other forms:

The plural noun is "imbroglios," as in "She keeps up with all those Hollywood imbroglios."

how to use it:

"Imbroglio" is pretty rare in English, so pick it when you're sure that the context will express its meaning. And if you don't actually need a fancy Italian term, just pick "embroilment" instead.

But "imbroglio" is great for adding a dramatic flair to your description of any scandal, entanglement, or embarrassing mix-up in real life or fiction.

You might specify what kind of imbroglio you're talking about, like a tax imbroglio, a legal imbroglio, a political imbroglio, a sitcom-worthy imbroglio, or a Shakespearean imbroglio (the kind with mixed-up identities, misinterpretations of people's notes, and spying from behind a curtain).

Since an imbroglio is a tangle or a confusion, you might say that people get caught, trapped, or snagged in an imbroglio, or that they withdraw or escape from one.

examples:

"UCLA's basketball team returned from Shanghai... without the three players ensnared in a legal imbroglio over the alleged theft of designer sunglasses."
— Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 11 November 2017

"When you sponsor a Romanian film festival, and your Romanian partner comes under attack by the new authorities in Bucharest, thus jeopardizing your joint undertaking, you may find yourself thrust into a political imbroglio."
— Larry Rohter, New York Times, 27 November 2012

has this page helped you understand "imbroglio"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this term, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "imbroglio" without saying "misunderstanding" or "embarrassing situation."

try it out:

When you want to label some aggravating situation with a term much more formal than "snafu" or "dumpster fire," maybe "imbroglio" will work.

For example, this writer picked "imbroglio" to describe an irksome situation for people trying to get their passports:

"Monthslong delays and a severe shortage of in-person appointments have plagued passport applicants since early 2020... You can only book an appointment if you have proof of imminent travel within 14 days, and the appointment itself must occur within three business days of your departure. And even when an appointment can be found within the proper time frame, there's no guarantee it's in the same city or even the same state as the applicant, forcing those in need of travel documents to fly or drive several hours just to get their passport on time...For some Americans who booked summer travel, the passport imbroglio isn't just costing them money. It's also costing them time."

With this imbroglio in mind as an example, talk about an imbroglio that you've personally experienced. Was it also a bureaucratic imbroglio, or some other kind? (Romantic? Academic? Political?) How did you get entangled in it? How did you get yourself out of it?

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game this month is "Idiom Savant."

Flex your facility with familiar phrases by quickly pairing them off with words closely associated in meaning.

For example, you might pair the idiom "a cat has nine lives" with the word "resilient;" "water under the bridge" with "inconsequential;" and "when it rains, it pours" with "proliferate."

Try these today:

Pair these idioms...

1. through thick and thin
2. to age in reverse
3. to catch red-handed
4. to fall out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down
5. to fight tooth and nail

With these words...

A. flagrant
B. herculean
C. juvenescent
D. Polyphemus
E. unflagging

To see the answers, scroll all the way down.

review this word:

1. A near opposite of an IMBROGLIO is

A. a DETRIMENT: a penalty point, an aspect that causes damage.
B. a DENOUEMENT: an untying of a knot, an unraveling of a complex problem.
C. a PENTIMENTO: a correction of an error, a place in a painting that suggests the painter made a small change.

2. The word "imbroglio" could appropriately describe _____.

A. the rise and fall in volume in a song, adding tension and dimension
B. the plot of an opera, with lovers who disguise themselves and lie to each other
C. the cap on a bottle of medicine for joint paint, which easily pops off with a light touch

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
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A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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