muddy

1 of 2

adjective

mud·​dy ˈmə-dē 

muddier; muddiest

1

: morally impure : base

2

a

: full of or covered with mud

b

: characteristic or suggestive of mud

a muddy flavor

muddy colors

c

: turbid with sediment

3

a

: lacking in clarity or brightness : cloudy, dull

a muddy recording

eyes muddy with sleep

b

: obscure in meaning : muddled, confused

muddy thinking

muddily

ˈmə-də-lē 

adverb

muddiness

ˈmə-dē-nəs 

noun

muddy

2 of 2

verb

muddied; muddying

transitive verb

1

: confuse

2

: to soil or stain with or as if with mud

3

: to make turbid

4

: to make cloudy or dull

Phrases

muddy the waters

: to make a situation more confusing or difficult

Synonyms

Adjective

• miry
• mucky
• oozy
• slimy
• sludgy
• slushy

Verb

• addle
• baffle
• bamboozle
• beat
• befog
• befuddle
• bemuse
• bewilder
• buffalo
• confound
• confuse
• discombobulate
• disorient
• flummox
• fox
• fuddle
• get
• gravel
• maze
• muddle
• mystify
• perplex
• pose
• puzzle
• vex

Examples of muddy in a Sentence

Adjective

please do not walk in the house with muddy boots on, as you will get the carpet dirty

whether muddy or not, water taken from lakes and streams should be boiled by campers

Verb

The flooding muddied the roads.

She muddied the color by adding some brown.

muddying the line between fact and fiction

The debate further muddied the issues.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

His first paper dating these tracks detailed a perilous journey undertaken by what appears to be a small woman or adolescent female, carrying a child on her hip, walking fast across the muddy lakeshore. —Richard Grant, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 May 2024

The muddy Trinity River by any other name would still be muddled in history. —Hollace Ava Weiner, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1604, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing muddy

• muddy the waters

Kids Definition

muddy

1 of 2 adjective

mud·​dy ˈməd-ē 

muddier; muddiest

1

: filled or covered with mud

a muddy pond

muddy shoes

2

: resembling mud

a muddy color

muddy coffee

3

: not clear or bright

a muddy complexion

4

: unclear in meaning : muddled

muddy thinking

muddiness noun

muddy

2 of 2 verb

muddied; muddying

1

: to soil or stain with or as if with mud

2

: to make cloudy or dull

3

: to become or cause to become confused