muddle

CEFRC1

/ˈmʌdl̩/

verb · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To make something confused or difficult to understand.

  2. 02

    noun

    A confused or disorganized situation.

Examples

  • I'm in the middle of a muddle.

  • Tom was in a real muddle over his holiday plans.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˈmʌd(ə)l/

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To dabble in mud.

  2. To mash slightly for use in a cocktail.

  3. To mix together, to mix up; to confuse.

More examples

In context

  • He muddled the mint sprigs in the bottom of the glass.

  • Young children tend to muddle their words.

  • c. 1721-1722, Jonathan Swift, The Progress of Marriage Young ducklings foster'd by a hen; But, when let out, they run and muddle

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The complex instructions will blank the team members and delay the entire project.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

From Middle English modelen (attested in present participle modeland (“wallowing”)), from Middle Dutch moddelen (“to make muddy”), from modde, mod (“mud”) (Modern Dutch modder). By surface analysis, mud + -le. Compare German Kuddelmuddel.