muddy the waters

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See synonyms for muddy the waters on Thesaurus.com

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.

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TAKE JOY IN ACING THIS QUIZ ON “PRIDE” SYNONYMS

Hold your head up high as you embark on this quiz that explores some of the synonyms and meanings of “pride.”

Question 1 of 7

What does "dignity" mean?

showing self-respect

treating others with kindness

acting selfishly

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Words nearby muddy the waters

muddlehead, muddleheaded, muddler, muddle through, muddy, muddy the waters, mud eel, Mudéjar, mudeye, mudfat, mud fever

How to use muddy the waters in a sentence

France 24 is providing live, round-the-clock coverage of both scenes as they progress.
LIVE Coverage of the Paris Terror Attacks||January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Sands was involved in a scandalous-for-the-time romance with the carpenter and there were rumors she was pregnant with his child.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion|Nina Strochlic|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Three on-the-record stories from a family: a mother and her daughters who came from Phoenix.
I Tried to Warn You About Sleazy Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in 2003|Vicky Ward|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The “waters of Lake Minnetonka” may have been purifying, but they were also freezing.
Speed Read: The Juiciest Bits From the History of ‘Purple Rain’|Jennie Yabroff|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST

The Dallas Cowboys sell out their state-of-the art football stadium.
Will Texas Stay Texan?|David Fontana|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This, however, did not apply to the waters lying directly around the Poloe and Flatland groups.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
Sleek finds it far harder work than fortune-making; but he pursues his Will-o'-the-Wisp with untiring energy.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
The volcanic eruptions of the mountains on the west broke down its barriers, and let its waters flow.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 372, October 1846|Various
The countries about the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea and its adjoining waters.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
All things that are of the earth, shall return to the earth again, and all waters shall return to the sea.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various

muddy the waters

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How to use muddy the waters in a sentence