verb

mêler

involve · get involved · mingle · mix

Mettre ensemble des choses ou des personnes pour qu’elles ne soient plus séparées.

Definition & meaning

Mêler is a regular French verb meaning to mix, blend, combine, or intermingle. Its exact sense depends on context:

To mix or combine things: mêler les couleurs means “to mix the colors.”
To mix something into something else: it can describe adding or combining ingredients, ideas, or elements.
To involve or implicate someone: mêler quelqu’un à une affaire means “to involve someone in a matter.”
To confuse or jumble: it can describe things becoming mixed up or difficult to distinguish.
In its reflexive form, se mêler à means to mingle or join, while se mêler de often means to meddle in or take an interest in something.

Grammar & Word origin

Mêler is a regular -er verb. Its present-tense forms include je mêle, tu mêles, and il/elle mêle. It is often used with a direct object, as in mêler les ingrédients (“mix the ingredients”), and also appears in the reflexive construction se mêler.

The verb comes from Old French mesler, related to Latin miscēre, “to mix.”

Synonyms & antonyms

Synonyms vary by meaning:

mélanger means “to mix” and is often the closest general synonym. Mêler can more strongly suggest blending or bringing separate things together.
entremêler means “to interweave” or “intermingle,” emphasizing that elements are intertwined.
confondre means “to confuse” or “mistake one thing for another,” focusing more on mistaken identification than on physical mixing.
impliquer means “to involve” or “implicate,” especially in a matter or situation.
s’immiscer means “to meddle” or “intrude,” similar to se mêler de but often more explicitly disapproving.

Possible antonyms include:

séparer — “to separate”; the clearest opposite when things are being mixed.
démêler — “to untangle” or “sort out”; the opposite when things are confused or entangled.
distinguer — “to distinguish”; an opposite when mêler means to confuse or blur differences.