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Synonyms

muddy the waters

Idioms  

  1. 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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"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

Ms. Bauer said that the term “advanced birth centers” — so similar to the birthing centers run primarily by midwives — would muddy the waters for patients.

From New York Times • Jun. 15, 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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.