muddled
Americanadjective
-
mixed up, confused, or disordered.
The rejection is based on faulty underlying assumptions and muddled thinking.
-
muddy, clouded, or obscured; murky.
After a long winter season, your pool is most likely a tub of muddled water with foliage and twigs floating about.
-
(of an ingredient) mixed, crushed, or mashed into a drink, especially with a muddler.
The freshly muddled kiwi adds an unexpected flavor to this handmade cocktail.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of muddled
Explanation
Muddled things are all mixed-up and confused. Your mind might feel muddled when you first wake up from a long nap. Your school's football quarterback might get muddled and throw the ball the wrong way. Or, your muddled French teacher could make the class feel muddled too if she accidentally starts speaking German in class. The verb muddle, "to make confused or disordered," originally meant "destroy the clarity of," from its literal meaning, "to bathe in mud."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
New York’s Classic Stage Company mounts the unfinished drama that the Pulitzer winner worked on during the final decades of his life, in a muddled version ‘completed’ by playwright Kirk Lynn.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026
The language used to describe snack tins is so flowery — and muddled by hyper-wellness jargon — it’s almost nonsensical.
From Salon • May 17, 2026
Yet the culture's court of public opinion has grown muddled, notably as concerns about fast fashion and petroleum-based materials grow.
From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026
"The Democratic field was already pretty muddled, even after Swalwell took a small lead," he said.
From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026
But since he couldn’t put his finger on what it was that bothered him, Velutha misunderstood his muddled concern.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
