imbroglio.

A confused, complicated situation or dispute involving overlapping difficulties.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• a diplomatic imbroglio
• an imbroglio over ownership

On the page

The missing signature turned the sale into an imbroglio.

She entered the diplomatic imbroglio intending to clarify a question no one would state plainly.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary. Forms: Singular imbroglio; plural imbroglios. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.