Verb a car shopper thoroughly muddled by too much well-meaning advice some mischievous brat had muddled the household accounts Noun His papers were in a muddle. His mind was a muddle.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
This can cloud a reader’s understanding of a study by overestimating its importance or simply muddle one’s understanding with excess words. Theresa Gaffney, STAT, 1 Sep. 2022 TikToks has demonstrated that parasocial relationships — one-sided emotional investments in public figures — can muddle appropriate boundaries online. Morgan Sung, NBC News, 26 Aug. 2022 Lightly muddle the coffee beans (crack beans only, do not grind), then stir the muddled beans with rum over ice. Hudson Lindenberger, Forbes, 16 Aug. 2022 The ultimate hands-on drink station—a muddle-your-own mojito bar! Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Aug. 2022 Gently muddle the mint leaves and cucumber in a copper mug. Gabrielle Nicole Pharms, Harper's BAZAAR, 8 July 2022 In a shaker tin, muddle the strawberry with agave syrup and lemon juice. Gabrielle Nicole Pharms, Harper's BAZAAR, 8 July 2022 One video showing how to muddle these herbs into a drinkable tea has reached more than 250,000 views. Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY, 7 July 2022 The Democratic Governors Association and Pritzker are also spending ads in the Republican primary trying to muddle things up — and elevate Bailey to make Pritzker’s road to reelection easier. Amber Phillips, Washington Post, 28 June 2022
Noun
More on College Sports From Power 5 to Mighty 2: As the Big Ten and the SEC consolidate power, some fear the rest of college sports could become a muddle.New York Times, 19 Aug. 2022 From this muddle of anger, confusion and regret, though, a movement was born. Dan Barry, BostonGlobe.com, 10 July 2022 Jablonka’s desire to trace all the world’s hierarchies, injustices, and conflicts back to one prehistoric fit of reproductive jealousy leads to a good deal of muddle as things proceed. Zoë Heller, The New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2022 And third, existing ESG ratings are a muddle of data—a pudding without a clear theme. David Meyer, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2022 Since the summer, however—and particularly after the disastrous, though ultimately justified, withdrawal from Afghanistan—Democrats have been stuck in a muddle. Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 18 May 2022 The show’s final sequences have been forced into a curious and not entirely persuasive moral; then again, a muddle of things may in the end be the best we mortals can expect. Peter Marks, Washington Post, 11 July 2022 In a cocktail glass, muddle cucumber, 2 rosemary sprigs, simple syrup, and lime juice. Gabrielle Nicole Pharms, Harper's BAZAAR, 8 July 2022 The result is a muddle that should have been limited to an invitation-only workshop.Los Angeles Times, 16 May 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Verb and Noun
probably from obsolete Dutch moddelen, from Middle Dutch, from modde mud; akin to Middle Low German mudde