muddled

Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms, Encyclopedia.

mud·dle

(mŭd′l)

v. mud·dled, mud·dling, mud·dles

v.tr.

a. To mix together, especially confusedly: The various flavors are muddled in this recipe.

b. To mix (a drink or the ingredients of a drink), especially with a muddler.

a. To put into a state of confusion; confuse: Emotional rhetoric will only muddle the debate on the issue.

b. To confuse or befuddle (a person or the mind, for example). See Synonyms at befuddle.

3. To mismanage or bungle: muddle a task.

4. To make turbid or muddy.

v.intr.

To think, act, or proceed in a confused or aimless manner: muddled along through my high-school years.

1. A disordered condition; a mess or jumble.

2. A state of mental confusion.

3. See muddler.

Phrasal Verb:

muddle through

To push on to a favorable outcome in a disorganized way.

[Possibly from obsolete Dutch moddelen, to make water muddy, from Middle Dutch, frequentative of *modden, to make muddy, from modde, mud.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

addled, muddled - Addled refers to mental confusion; muddled is anything confused or in a mess.

muddled

adjective

1. incoherent, confused, loose, vague, unclear, woolly, muddleheaded the muddled thinking of the Government's transport policy
incoherent clear, exact, precise

2. bewildered, confused, at sea, dazed, perplexed, disoriented, stupefied, befuddled I'm afraid I'm a little muddled. I don't know where to begin.

3. jumbled, confused, disordered, scrambled, tangled, chaotic, messy, mixed-up, disorganized, higgledy-piggledy (informal), disarrayed a muddled pile of historical manuscripts
jumbled organized, orderly, cut-and-dried (informal)

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

مُرْتَبِك، مُشَوَّش التَّفْكير

popletenýzmatený

ruglaîur

muddled

[ˈmʌdld] ADJ [account, explanation] → confuso, lioso; [ideas, article, thinking] → confuso, poco claro; [person] → confundido, liado
I'm afraid I'm a little muddled → me temo que estoy un poco confundido, me temo que estoy un poco liado

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

muddled

[ˈmʌd^əld] adj (= confused) [person] → perdu(e); [ideas, approach] → confus(e)muddle-headed [ˌmʌd^əlˈhɛdɪd] adj [person] → brouillon; [plan, ideas] → confus

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

muddled

adj → konfus; person also → durcheinander pred; thoughts, ideas also → verworren, wirr; to get muddled (up) (things) → durcheinandergeraten; (person) → konfus werden; to be muddled about something → verwirrt über etw (acc) → sein; set out in a muddled way → ziemlich konfus angelegt; he has a rather muddled way of doing things → er macht alles ziemlich kompliziert; in a muddled way it does make sense → es ist zwar verworren, ergibt aber doch einen Sinn

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

muddle

(ˈmadl) verb

to confuse or mix up. Don't talk while I'm counting, or you'll muddle me.

noun

a state of confusion. These papers keep getting in a muddle.

ˈmuddled adjective

muddled thinking.

ˈmuddle-headed adjective

incapable of clear thinking. Men think that all women are muddle-headed.

muddle along/through

to progress in spite of one's unsatisfactory methods and foolish mistakes.

muddle up

to confuse (eg two different things). I'm always muddling the twins up; I've muddled up these book orders.

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

Montgomery followed with stumbling footsteps, his hands in his pockets, his face downcast; he was in a state of muddled sullenness with me on account of the brandy.

Montgomery raised himself slowly and stared in a muddled way at the shattered Beast Man beside him.

View in context

No one has ever told what you are--muddled, criminally muddled. Men like you use repentance as a blind, so don't repent.

View in context

His practised eye perceived her gradually emerge from a muddled mist of sentiment until her brain burned in drunken heat.

View in context

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street says he "muddled" his words when he confused the places of worship of Sikhism and Islam during a visit to the Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Smethwick.

Mayor sorry for 'mosque' error

THE Duchess of Sussex has revealed she does not read newspapers or engage with Twitter to avoid getting "muddled" by the "noise", whether positive or negative.

Meghan: Why I avoid the news

Mark Anthony Ventura should not be muddled by 'unfounded rumors and malicious insinuations.'

Tuguegarao Archbishop downplays rumors surrounding Cagayan priest's slay

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who muddled up her letters and couldn't read, but she was good at painting and making things and make-believe.

my secret work weapon Dyslexia

Strawberry Virgin Mojito What: Fresh mint, thinly chopped lime, muddled with strawberry syrup, strawberry puree, dashes of Angostura bitters, ginger beer, crushed ice.

This month, make mine a mocktail! Don't let the fact that you aren't drinking stop you from enjoying some fun at Cardiff 's bars. You can sup a delicious drink with not an ounce of alcohol with these 10 great mocktails that make Dry January fun

But I'm guessing they liven up once they get inside, right?) Speaking of getting words muddled up, here's Katie Price's ex, Dwight Yorke, recalling the good old days: "You have beautiful girls all around.

Losers in the Word Cup

Speaking of getting words muddled up, here's Dwight Yorke recalling the good old days: "You have beautiful girls all around.

Losers in the Word Cup

The Bailer: "Young, bold, and adventurous," this cocktail combines cherry and orange muddled with Fireball cinnamon whisky and ginger ale.