muddle

1 a state in which everything is out of order things at the newly built school were all in a muddle on opening day Synonyms chance-medley, confusion, disarrangement, disarray, dishevelment, disorder, disorderedness, disorderliness, disorganization, free-for-all, havoc, heck, hell, jumble, mare's nest, mess, messiness, misorder, chaos, muss, shambles, snake pit, tumble, welterRelated Words anarchy, lawlessness, misrule, riot; knot, snarl, tangle; labyrinth, maze, web; maelstrom, storm; bollix, clutter, litter, mishmash, shuffle; hodgepodge, medley, miscellany, morass, motleyNear Antonyms method, pattern, plan, systemAntonyms order, orderliness

2 a state of mental confusion I was in such a muddle after the accident that I didn't know where I was Synonyms daze, dazedness, fog, haze, spin, swoonRelated Words reverie, stupor, trance; befuddlement, bewilderment, perplexity, puzzlement; delirium, malaise, paralysis; cloudiness, fogginessNear Antonyms alertness, levelheadedness

3 a state of mental uncertainty the new, supposedly improved forms simply put taxpayers in a bigger muddle Synonyms bafflement, bamboozlement, befuddlement, bemusement, bewilderedness, bewilderment, confusedness, discombobulation, distraction, fog, head-scratching, maze [chiefly dialect], confusion, mystification, perplexity, puzzlement, tangle, whirlRelated Words abashment, discomfiture, disconcertment, embarrassment, mortification; agitation, chagrin, discomfort, dismay, disquiet, distress, disturbance, perturbation, upset; bother, commotion, dither, flurry, fluster, fuss, stew, turmoilNear Antonyms assurance, certainty, certitude, confidence, conviction, positiveness, sureness

4 an unorganized collection or mixture of various things a muddle of old magazines piled on the shelves Synonyms agglomerate, agglomeration, alphabet soup, assortment, botch, clutter, collage, crazy quilt, farrago, gallimaufry, grab bag, gumbo, hash, hodgepodge, hotchpotch, jambalaya, jumble, jungle, litter, macédoine, medley, mélange, menagerie, miscellanea, mishmash, mixed bag, montage, motley, miscellany, olio, olla podrida, omnium-gatherum, pastiche, patchwork, patchwork quilt, potpourri, ragbag, ragout, rummage, salad, salmagundi, scramble, shuffle, smorgasbord, stew, tumble, variety, welterRelated Words detritus, notions, oddments, odds and ends, sundries; accumulation, aggregate, aggregation, conglomerate, conglomeration; catchall; admixture, alloy, amalgam, blend, combination, commixture, composite, compound, fusion, intermixture, mix-up; bollix, chaos, confusion, disarrangement, disarray, disorder, dog's breakfast [chiefly British], mess, morass, miscellany, shambles; imbroglio, knot, snarl, tangle

1 to throw into a state of mental uncertainty a car shopper thoroughly muddled by too much well-meaning advice Synonyms addle, baffle, bamboozle, beat, befog, befuddle, bemuse, bewilder, buffalo, confound, discombobulate, disorient, flummox, fox, fuddle, get, gravel, maze, confuse, muddy, mystify, perplex, pose, puzzle, vexRelated 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, trickNear Antonyms assure, reassure, satisfy; enlighten, inform

2 to undo the proper order or arrangement of some mischievous brat had muddled the household accounts Synonyms confuse, derange, disarrange, disarray, discompose, dishevel, disjoint, dislocate, disorganize, disrupt, disturb, hash, jumble, mess (up), mix (up), disorder, muss, rumple, scramble, shuffle, tousle, tumble, upsetRelated Words embroil, entangle, snarl, tangle; agitate, perturb, stir (up), unsettle; clutterNear Antonyms align (also aline), line, line up, queue; classify, codify, methodize, systematize, systemize; adjust, fix; groom, make up, spruce (up); unscrambleAntonyms arrange, array, dispose, draw up, marshal (also marshall), order, organize, range, regulate, straighten (up), tidy