addle

/ˈædəl/
adjective
  1. Confused or unable to think clearly; muddled.
    • After the long flight, she felt addle and couldn't remember where she parked.
    • His addle mind kept mixing up the names of his coworkers.
    • The addle old man wandered the streets, lost in his thoughts.
  2. Of an egg: rotten or not developing properly.
    • The nest contained two addle eggs and one healthy one.
    • They threw away the addle eggs to prevent the smell from spreading.
    • The addle egg gave off a terrible smell when broken open.
verb
  1. To make someone unable to think clearly; to confuse or muddle.
    • The complicated instructions addled the students during the exam.
    • The constant noise addled his concentration, so he couldn't finish his work.
    • Lack of sleep can addle your judgment and make you forgetful.
  2. To cause an egg to become rotten or unable to develop into a chick.
    • The farmer noticed that the heat had addled several eggs in the nest.
    • If you shake an egg too much, it may addle and never hatch.
    • The old hen sat on addled eggs for weeks without any chicks appearing.
Antonyms
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