This loanword comes from Italian, from the verb “imbrogliare,” meaning “confuse.” In the noun sense, “imbroglio” means “an extremely confused or embarrassing situation.” An imbroglio might be as simple as mixing up the seating arrangements at a dinner, or it can be as complicated as a foreign affairs dispute — the word applies to all levels of confusion. “Imbroglio” is also related to the verb “embroil,” which means “to involve (someone) deeply in an argument, conflict, or difficult situation,” but that word can be traced back to the French word “embrouiller,” which means “to muddle.” Many Romance languages, such as French and Italian, have similar words in spelling and meaning.