as in dazed
suffering from mental confusion
my brain grew more and more addle as I made my way through the tax instructions
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to bewilder
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
after slipping on the ice, Bethany was so addled that she left her groceries where they'd fallen
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of addle
Ann Hornaday, Twin Cities, 25 July 2019
Marco Della Cava, USA Today, 10 June 2025
The surfer is increasingly addled by visions that come to him in harrowing split-second blackouts.
—Glenn Kenny, New York Times, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for addle
Adjective
Soon enough, the foursome are in the back of that truck in an adventure that begins as a moneymaking scheme and promises to become a heroic journey into the heart of white supremacy at its most virulent and addle-minded.
—Ann Hornaday, Twin Cities, 25 July 2019
Verb
By 1971, with the band addled by drug use and internal strife, Sly and the Family Stone would increasingly lose tour bookings and fail to produce music that matched the songs of just a few years prior.
—Marco Della Cava, USA Today, 10 June 2025
The surfer is increasingly addled by visions that come to him in harrowing split-second blackouts.
—Glenn Kenny, New York Times, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for addle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for addle
Adjective
-
The boyfriend is dead and Betty helps Laura, relatively unharmed but dazed, back to her house.—
Robert Abele,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Mar. 2026
-
When Sneaky Snook in his mail truck happened upon the wreckage near the boundary of Meredith Downs, sheep were scattered along the roadside and the fence, bleating, dazed.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
There aren’t many ways to earn a club’s first win better than bewildering the league’s defending champions at their place.—
Braidon Nourse,
Denver Post,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Now, many millions of Americans are bewildered by events.—
David French,
Mercury News,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
There was no punchline, no twist — just the straightforward, slightly bewildered observation that someone, somewhere, had performed surgery on a grape.—
Samantha Agate,
Miami Herald,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Exasperated, bewildered, and realizing other musicians were also dealing with this, Bender came up with a way to show just how porous the system was.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
His disaffection baffles his acquaintances and pains his tubercular wife (a superb Quinn Jackson), whose doctor (Lambert Tamin) has only contempt for her husband’s agonizing.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
-
The Late Show host appeared genuinely baffled by the president’s current poll numbers during his opening monologue on Tuesday, mostly due to the 22 percent of Americans who are still throwing their support behind the 79-year-old former reality star.—
Emlyn Travis,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Tariff refunds, small businesses and distracted parenting, in readers’ eyes.—
Letters to the Editor,
Washington Post,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Whatever the solution, do not drive distracted.—
Clifford Ward,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Their presence prompted nervousness among beachgoers and surfers sharing the water, but marveled researchers who were perplexed by the abnormally longer stay close to shore.—
Laylan Connelly,
Oc Register,
27 Mar. 2026
-
These are the brutally real snapshots of a man well acquainted with—but still perplexed by—the powerful and destructive forces that lord over our lives.—
Dash Lewis,
Pitchfork,
4 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
When the director approached Hanks directly, the actor was confused.—
Samantha Agate,
Miami Herald,
28 Mar. 2026
-
After catching confused glances all through Venice, traversing neighborhoods and winding along Abbott Kinney, the group landed at the home of Matt Ricotta.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
As if that wasn’t confusing enough, not all Christians agree on what day of the calendar that specific Sunday is.—
Manon Bischoff,
Scientific American,
4 Apr. 2026
-
This was not to be confused with the Ulster Volunteer Force or the Ulster Defence Association, both terrorist organizations that vehemently favored the link with Britain.—
Colm Tóibín,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Addle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/addle. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
