Describes a disorderly mixture of various things, often with a negative or chaotic nuance. Can be used as a noun or adjectival noun (with な).
The desk is a jumble of books and papers.
Various opinions got all mixed up, and the meeting became chaotic.
Kanji form using 混ぜ; encountered but less frequent than kana.
Likely a compound of ごた (onomatopoeic element suggesting disorder) and 混ぜ (from 混ぜる, 'to mix'). The exact derivation is uncertain.