muddles 1 of 2

noun

plural of muddle
1
as in jumbles
a state in which everything is out of order things at the newly built school were all in a muddle on opening day

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2
as in confusions
a state of mental uncertainty the new, supposedly improved forms simply put taxpayers in a bigger muddle

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3
as in varieties
an unorganized collection or mixture of various things a muddle of old magazines piled on the shelves

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muddles

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of muddle
1
as in confuses
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty a car shopper thoroughly muddled by too much well-meaning advice

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in disrupts
to undo the proper order or arrangement of some mischievous brat had muddled the household accounts

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of muddles
Verb
Mixing too many competing scents in the same area also muddles the experience, and strong essential oils like peppermint or cinnamon can quickly overload a space. — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Miami Herald, 10 June 2026 But the Royals and Guardians play each other this week, which muddles up the math a little bit (especially if Kansas City wins the series and hops the Guardians for second place). — Christian Romo, Freep.com, 10 Sep. 2025 Relying on such sources is misleading and muddles the comparison with Chicago, which has better public transit than Philadelphia. — Chicago Tribune, 6 Aug. 2025 OpenAI muddles the message on if the government should guarantee chip financing. — John Kell, Fortune, 29 July 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for muddles
  1. jumbles
  2. confusions
  3. varieties
  4. confuses
  5. disrupts
  6. messes
  7. fogs
  8. assortments
Noun
  • Arches and natural bridges sweep like buttresses from jumbles of rock, giving this landscape a mystical, cathedral-like quality.
    — Madison Chapman, Outside, 25 Mar. 2026
  • Macaroons are chewy jumbles of coconut bound together with egg whites and sweetened condensed milk.
    — Lynda Balslev, Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2026
Definition of jumbles
Noun
  • Before the Lost Weekend, John and Yoko had their New York Year — turning their personal confusions into beautifully vivid moments of rage and pain.
    — Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 14 Oct. 2025
Definition of confusions
Noun
  • Today, some bright spots aside, the Art Deco District’s historic commercial spine is a drab length of vacant and unkempt storefronts, smoke shops, liquor stores, fast-food outlets, cheap T-shirt emporia and other varieties of tourist trap.
    — Andres Viglucci, Miami Herald, 22 July 2026
  • Celebrity Chef Eric Adjepong, a festival anchor, was particularly impressed by the diverse mango varieties, noting their versatility beyond sweetness for both savory and sweet dishes.
    — Aly Walansky, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026
Definition of varieties
Verb
  • These opportunists drown out the core mission, creating a cacophony of competing voices that confuses donors, crowd the inboxes of CEOs and members of Congress with colliding petitions, and paralyzes meaningful action by draining critical funding and attention away from the truly effective groups.
    — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 28 June 2026
  • But nobody confuses Harvard Extension School classes with the real thing.
    — Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 23 June 2026
Definition of confuses
Verb
  • Alcohol disrupts sleep, but drinking earlier may give your body more time to process it before bedtime, reducing its impact on sleep quality.
    — Lauren Panoff, Verywell Health, 17 July 2026
  • What causes insomnia during perimenopause Perimenopause disrupts sleep through a combination of hormonal shifts that affect the body in overlapping ways.
    — Hanna Wickes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 July 2026
Definition of disrupts
Noun
  • Droves of shoppers just bought this over-door organizer that maximizes storage space without taking up a ton of room, and another lot of customers went after this lightweight cordless vacuum that doubles as a handheld for floor-to-ceiling messes.
    — Clara McMahon, PEOPLE, 18 July 2026
  • Make sure to do this over the sink or outside to prevent messes!
    — Nicole Harris, Parents, 18 July 2026
Definition of messes
Noun
  • And fogs are closer to us than clouds.
    — Doyle Rice, USA Today, 31 May 2026
  • Over-the-counter pesticides and fogs will not do the job.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Mar. 2026
Definition of fogs
Noun
  • Its deep-discount model is built for speed and simplicity around compact stores, limited assortments, a heavy reliance on private label and customer self-service—like bagging and shopping-cart retrieval— that keeps prices low and operations tight.
    — Pamela N. Danziger, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
  • McGinty said many of the styles now gaining broader visibility — salt-and-pepper diamonds, hexagon and kite-cut stones, Montana sapphires and heavier gold settings — were already in demand with her clients years before appearing in larger retail assortments.
    — Lauren Fisher, Footwear News, 26 June 2026
Definition of assortments

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Cite this Entry

“Muddles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/muddles. Accessed 22 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of muddles for Spanish Speakers

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