Synonyms

muddy the waters

Idioms

Confuse the issue, as in Bringing up one irrelevant fact after another, he succeeded in muddying the waters. This metaphoric expression, alluding to making a pond or stream turbid by stirring up mud from the bottom, was first recorded in 1837.

Example Sentences

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muddy the waters

Some have tried to muddy the waters on the events of that day, but the record is clear.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 24, 2026

"Inevitably it will somewhat muddy the waters," Rothwell says.

From BBC ● Apr. 8, 2026

No need to muddy the waters, no need to create alternative facts.

From Slate ● Dec. 3, 2024

“The defense is going to muddy the waters on whether that gun was somehow defective and maybe fired on its own or fired with a slight depress of the trigger.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 7, 2024

Perhaps Elizebeth thought that if she insisted on joint credit, she would muddy the waters.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

muddy the waters

Example Sentences

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