atoldar

Senses

1. 1.

   to bog down, to mire

   to cause to sink into mud or get stuck in a difficult situation

2. 2.

   to get bogged down, to get stuck

   to become trapped in mud or entangled in a problematic situation (reflexive)

3. 3.

   to confuse, to befuddle

   to make someone confused or disoriented

Examples

• "A chuva forte atoldou o carro na estrada de terra."

  The heavy rain bogged down the car on the dirt road.

• "Ele se atoldou em dívidas depois de perder o emprego."

  He got bogged down in debt after losing his job.

• "Não quero me atoldar nessa confusão toda."

  I don't want to get stuck in all this mess.

Usage

Most commonly used reflexively (atoldar-se) to mean "to get stuck" either literally (in mud) or figuratively (in problems, debts, or complications). Register is neutral to informal. Often collocates with "em dívidas" (in debt), "em problemas" (in problems), or "na lama" (in mud).