to muddle

Examples

• All

• She tried to muddle the instructions, making it hard for anyone to understand what to do.

• If you muddle the ingredients too much, the recipe will not turn out as expected.

• We're all just trying our best to muddle through and make people happy.

• I think I can muddle through without you for an hour or two.

  Rust Creek (2019)

• We'll muddle through, while they decide things back home.

  Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 (2024)

• First, they would muddle the meaning of fascism itself.

  Death of a Nation (2018)

• You have muddled everything from the start.

  The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

• The status of the relationship between the citizen and the government is a muddled one at present.

  Academic text (2009)

• Other coaches may remain in coaching, but merely muddle along, surviving rather than thriving.

  Academic text (2004)

• It leaves us in a position where I think we're going to be muddling through for some time.

Synonyms

M

to mix up

vsto muddle

• Informal

83 2.7

To make people confused and things messy

means mixing or confusing but can also mean causing general disorder

P

to puzzle

vsto muddle

30 4.9

To make someone feel confused when something is hard to understand

involves active mixing or confusing that makes things unclear to understand

M

to muddy

vsto muddle

27 4.4

Make something less clear or more confusing

adds the idea of mixing things up, not only reducing clarity

O

to obfuscate

vsto muddle

• Formal

17 9.1

To make facts or information unclear on purpose

is similar but usually without implying deliberate intent

C

to confound

vsto muddle

13 7.3

Mistake one thing or person for another

is broader, covering any mixing that makes meaning unclear

M

to muddy the waters

vsto muddle

• Informal

11 7.2

Make a topic more confusing by adding unclear details

is broader, applying to any mixing up that causes lack of clarity

C

to confuse

vsto muddle

7 1.9

Mix things up so their order is not clear

focuses more on creating general confusion rather than only disorder

T

to tangle

vsto muddle

7 4.7

To make a story or idea hard to understand

is more general, including simple confusion without physical tangling

P

to perplex

vsto muddle

6 6.3

To make someone confused and unable to understand

leans more to causing disorder or mixing, not only mental doubt

J

to jumble

vsto muddle

6 3.8

Mix things together in a confused way

is similar but covers both disorder and broader unclear meaning

B

to befuddle

vsto muddle

4 7.8

To make someone very confused so they cannot think clearly

can confuse both things and people, not only deeply baffling someone

M

to muddy up

vsto muddle

• Informal

3 6.7

To make an idea or situation unclear and confusing

covers the same confusion but also emphasizes mixing elements together

D

to discombobulate

vsto muddle

• Informal

2 9.9

To confuse someone so they cannot think clearly

covers confusion more widely, including mixing items as well as people

A

to addle

vsto muddle

2 8.9

To make a person confused and unable to think clearly

includes that mental mixing but also physical or general mixing of items

S

to snarl up

vsto muddle

• UK

1 7.8

Make things tangled or blocked so progress slows

focuses instead on making things unclear or hard to understand

R

to ravel

vsto muddle

1 8.4

To make a situation or story more confusing

is similar but also covers simple mixing up or disordering

M

to muzz

vsto muddle

9.9

To make thoughts or words unclear, often from noise and tiredness

is broader, applying to unclear situations and mixed items too

M

to misarticulate

vsto muddle

8.6

To express ideas unclearly so other people cannot understand them

is about mixing or confusing content, not only poor expression

Antonyms

C

to clarify

255 3.3

To make something clear so others can understand it

O

to organize

• US

194 1.6

Arrange people, things, and activities so they work well

Phrasal Verbs

M

to muddle along

• Informal

1 7.2

To continue despite problems without a clear plan

How Confused

to bewilder

3 5.3

to perplex

6 6.3

to confuse

152 1.9

to muddle

24 4.8

to mix up

• Informal

83 2.7

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology