muddy

¹mud·dy

adjective \ˈmə-dē\

mud·di·ermud·di·est

Definition of MUDDY

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>

— mud·di·ly \ˈmə-də-lē\ adverb

— mud·di·ness \ˈmə-dē-nəs\ noun

Examples of MUDDY

1. <please do not walk in the house with muddy boots on, as you will get the carpet dirty>
2. <whether muddy or not, water taken from lakes and streams should be boiled by campers>

First Known Use of MUDDY

15th century

Related to MUDDY

Synonyms

miry, mucky, oozy, slimy, sludgy, slushy

Antonyms

clear, crystal clear, crystalline

Related Words

clayey, loamy, roily, silty; bedraggled; befouled, begrimed, cruddy, dirty, filthy, foul, grimy, grotty [chiefly British], grubby, grungy, gunky, impure, smutty, soiled, squalid, stained, sullied, unclean, uncleanly

Near Antonyms

antiseptic, clean, cleanly, immaculate, pristine, sparkling, spick-and-span (or spic-and-span), spotless, squeaky-clean, unsoiled, unstained, unsullied

Rhymes with MUDDY

bloody, buddy, cruddy, cuddy, duddie, ruddy, study

²muddy

transitive verb

mud·diedmud·dy·ing

Definition of MUDDY

1

: to soil or stain with or as if with mud

2

: to make turbid

3

: to make cloudy or dull

4

: confuse

— muddy the waters

: to make a situation more confusing or difficult

Examples of MUDDY

1. The flooding muddied the roads.
2. She muddied the color by adding some brown.
3. muddying the line between fact and fiction
4. The debate further muddied the issues.

First Known Use of MUDDY

1601

Related to MUDDY

Synonyms

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

Antonyms

clarify, clear (up), illuminate

Related Words

stick, stump, weird out; abash, discomfit, disconcert, discountenance, embarrass, faze, fluster, mortify, nonplus, rattle; agitate, bother, chagrin, discomfort, discompose, dismay, disquiet, distress, disturb, perturb, stun, unhinge, unsettle, upset; beguile, cozen, deceive, delude, dupe, fool, gull, hoax, hoodwink, humbug, misguide, mislead, snow, string along, take in, trick

Near Antonyms

assure, reassure, satisfy; enlighten, inform

Rhymes with MUDDY

bloody, buddy, study