muddle

muddle
I
(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)
n. confusion, mess, disorder, befuddlement. See absurdity.
- muddle through
II
(Roget's IV) n.
1. [Confusion]
Syn. confusion, mess, jumble; see confusion 2 .
2. [Difficulty]
Syn. perplexity, quandary, predicament, pother, dilemma, complication, intricacy, complexity, awkwardness, involvement, emergency, struggle, unmanageableness, encumbrance, jam*, pickle*; see also difficulty 2 , puzzle .
See Synonym Study at confusion . v.
1. [To confuse; said of affairs ]
Syn. stir up, misarrange, disarrange, entangle, foul, mix, jumble, bungle, derange, shake up, mess, botch, potter, clutter, snarl, pi, complicate, disorder; see also confuse .
2. [To confuse; said usually of people ]
Syn. disturb, perturb, ruffle; see confuse .
III
(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) v.
mix up, stir up, jumble, disorder, fumble, blunder, puzzle, scramble, ensnarl, confuse, turn upside-down, mess up, foul.
ANT.: order, organize, neaten, clarify
IV
(Roget's Thesaurus II) I verb 1. To put out of proper order: derange, disarrange, disarray, disorder, disorganize, disrupt, disturb, jumble, mess up, mix up, tumble, unsettle, upset. See ORDER. 2. To put into total disorder: ball up, confuse, disorder, jumble, mess up, scramble, snarl2. Slang: snafu. Idiom: play havoc with. See ORDER. 3. To cause to be unclear in mind or intent: addle, befuddle, bewilder, confound, confuse, discombobulate, dizzy, fuddle, jumble, mix up, mystify, perplex, puzzle. Informal: throw. Idiom: make one's head reel (or swim or whirl). See CLEAR, FEELINGS. 4. To harm irreparably through inept handling; make a mess: ball up, blunder, boggle, botch, bungle, foul up, fumble, gum up, mess up, mishandle, mismanage, muff, spoil. Informal: bollix up, muck up. Slang: blow1, goof up, louse up, screw up, snafu. Idiom: make a muck of. See CORRECT, HELP. 5. To proceed or perform in an unsteady, faltering manner: blunder, bumble1, bungle, flounder, fudge, fumble, limp, shuffle, stagger, stumble. See THRIVE. II noun 1. A lack of order or regular arrangement: chaos, clutter, confusedness, confusion, derangement, disarrangement, disarray, disorder, disorderedness, disorderliness, disorganization, jumble, mess, mix-up, muss, scramble, topsy-turviness, tumble. Slang: snafu. See ORDER. 2. A ruinous state of disorder: botch, foul-up, mess, shambles. Informal: hash. Slang: screwup, snafu. See CORRECT, ORDER. 3. A stunned or bewildered condition: befud-dlement, bewilderedness, bewilderment, daze, discombobulation, fog, mystification, perplexity, puzzlement, stupefaction, stupor, trance. See AWARENESS.

English dictionary for students. 2013.

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Look at other dictionaries:

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  • Muddle — Mud dle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Muddled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Muddling}.] [From {Mud}.] 1. To make turbid, or muddy, as water. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] He did ill to muddle the water. L Estrange. [1913 Webster] 2. To cloud or stupefy; to render stupid… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • muddle up — ˌmuddle ˈup [transitive] [present tense I/you/we/they muddle up he/she/it muddles up present participle muddling up past tense …   Useful english dictionary

  • muddle — ► VERB 1) bring into a disordered or confusing state. 2) confuse or perplex (someone). 3) (muddle up) confuse (two or more things) with each other. 4) (muddle along/through) cope more or less satisfactorily. ► NOUN ▪ a mudd …   English terms dictionary

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  • muddle — [n] confused state ataxia, awkwardness, botch, chaos, clutter, complexity, complication, confusion, daze, difficulty, dilemma, disarrangement, disarray, disorder, disorganization, emergency, encumbrance, fog, foul up*, hash, haze, intricacy,… …   New thesaurus

  • muddle — [mud′ l] vt. muddled, muddling [< MUD + LE] 1. to mix up in a confused manner; jumble; bungle 2. to mix or stir (a drink, etc.) 3. to make (water, etc.) turbid 4. to confuse mentally; befuddle, as with alcoholic liquor …   English World dictionary

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