Library / English Dictionary

MUDDLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Informal terms for a difficult situation

Example:

he made a muddle of his marriage

Synonyms:

fix; hole; jam; kettle of fish; mess; muddle; pickle

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("muddle" is a kind of...):

difficulty (a condition or state of affairs almost beyond one's ability to deal with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "muddle"):

dog's breakfast; dog's dinner (a poor job; a mess)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A confused multitude of things

Synonyms:

clutter; fuddle; jumble; mare's nest; muddle; smother; welter

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("muddle" is a kind of...):

disorder; disorderliness (a condition in which things are not in their expected places)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "muddle"):

rummage (a jumble of things to be given away)

Derivation:

muddle (mix up or confuse)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Mix up or confuse

Example:

He muddled the issues

Synonyms:

addle; muddle; puddle

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "muddle" is one way to...):

confuse; jumble; mix up (assemble without order or sense)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

muddle (a confused multitude of things)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make into a puddle

Example:

puddled mire

Synonyms:

muddle; puddle

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "muddle" is one way to...):

rile; roil (make turbid by stirring up the sediments of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

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