MEANING
To draw someone into a dispute or a complicated troublesome situation.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- embroil in a dispute
- become embroiled
On the page
The stolen seal embroiled the whole household in the investigation.
He refused to be embroiled in their quarrel.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- embroil
- Past tense
- embroiled
- Past participle
- embroiled
- Present participle
- embroiling
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- embroil
- Present continuous
- am/is/are embroiling
- Present perfect
- have/has embroiled
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been embroiling
- Past
- embroiled
- Past continuous
- was/were embroiling
- Past perfect
- had embroiled
- Past perfect continuous
- had been embroiling
- Future
- will embroil
- Future continuous
- will be embroiling
- Future perfect
- will have embroiled
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been embroiling
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Primary category: literary. Forms: embroil; embroils; embroiled; embroiled; embroiling Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Third-person singular: embroils.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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