muddle
to mix up in a confused or bungling manner; jumble.
to cause to become mentally confused.
to cause to become confused or stupid with or as if with an intoxicating drink.
to make muddy or turbid, as water.
to mix, crush, or mash (an ingredient) into a drink, especially with a muddler.
to mix or stir (a cocktail, chocolate, etc.).
Ceramics. to smooth (clay) by rubbing it on glass.
to behave, proceed, or think in a confused or aimless fashion or with an air of improvisation: Some people just muddle along, waiting for their big break.
the state or condition of being muddled, especially a confused mental state.
a confused, disordered, or embarrassing condition; mess.
muddle through, to achieve a certain degree of success but without much skill, polish, experience, or direction: None of us knew much about staging a variety show, so we just had to muddle through.
Origin of muddle
1Other words for muddle
Opposites for muddle
9 | order, orderliness |
Other words from muddle
- mud·dled·ness, mud·dle·ment, noun
- mud·dling·ly, adverb
- pre·mud·dle, noun, verb (used with object), pre·mud·dled, pre·mud·dling.
Words Nearby muddle
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use muddle in a sentence
Previous estimates of the constant disagree with one another, leaving scientists in a muddle over its true value.
Wiggling metal beams offer a new way to test gravity’s strength | Emily Conover | July 11, 2022 | Science NewsFrom the muddle of ideas, Shan says, those three reports at the dawn of the 20th century helped introduce Mendel’s work to other scientists in the fledgling field of heredity.
How we got from Gregor Mendel’s pea plants to modern genetics | Elizabeth Quill | February 7, 2022 | Science NewsTo stand out as exceptionally beholden to the muddle of conspiracy theory and fury that defines that group — which includes Reps.
Violent anime videos are probably not the answer to winning young people over to the GOP | Philip Bump | November 18, 2021 | Washington PostIf you follow friends, celebrities, news organizations, humor accounts, and others, all the disparate content will get jumbled together in a muddle.
Transform your Twitter timeline with these 11 features and add-ons | David Nield | September 17, 2021 | Popular-ScienceIn many other cases, the result of using the tropes of so-called low culture as a vehicle for high-minded commentary has been a misguided, potentially offensive muddle.
The Controversy Around Amazon's Them Underscores the Trouble With Realistic Violence in Genre TV | Judy Berman | April 13, 2021 | Time
But the option of replacing a new diplomatic breakthrough with open-ended diplomatic muddle-through is not on the table.
Those desperate to find a middle ground in this political muddle could find some silver linings in the survey findings.
Meanwhile, the muddle in Malaysia makes it far harder for the searchers to know where to look.
That common denominator gets lost in the muddle, sometimes, when we talk about fashion.
Tilda Swinton and Oliver Saillard Perform the Creation of Fashion in ‘Eternity Dress’ | Sarah Moroz | November 21, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThis is not a moment to get misty-eyed and muddle-headed about freedom of the press or right to know.
As WikiLeaks Takes on the Roles of a State, America Must Treat It as One | Stuart Stevens | June 24, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTNow, contrast that awful muddle of unreason and injustice with what you call my "counsels of despair."
God and my Neighbour | Robert BlatchfordHere the Scot entered into explanations which threw the Cockney's brain into a complete muddle.
Friend Mac Donald | Max O'RellI mean—Well, anyhow I take it Mr. Remington stands for constructing a civilised state out of this muddle.
The New Machiavelli | Herbert George WellsIt's all a muddle, a compromise, a monstrosity, like everything else you produce; there's nothing in it that goes on all-fours.
The Awkward Age | Henry JamesAnd I'm a cripple, and she's beautiful—— Oh, my mind's in a muddle!
Patchwork | Anna Balmer Myers
British Dictionary definitions for muddle
/ (ˈmʌdəl) /
(often foll by up) to mix up (objects, items, etc); jumble
to confuse
to make (water) muddy or turbulent
US to mix or stir (alcoholic drinks, etc)
a state of physical or mental confusion
Origin of muddle
1Derived forms of muddle
- muddled, adjective
- muddledness or muddlement, noun
- muddling, adjective, noun
- muddlingly, adverb
- muddly, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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