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