muddling 1 of 2

adjective

as in confusing

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muddling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of muddle
1
as in baffling
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 disrupting
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 muddling
Verb
That’s muddling the outlook for rate cuts. — Bryan Mena, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2025 Drop in the cinnamon sticks and cloves, gently muddling once or twice to release their aroma. — John Kell, Forbes.com, 19 May 2026 The new estimate was based on accounting for some of those muddling data points. — Andrew Joseph, STAT, 29 Jan. 2026 Gently muddling the mint and lime and not pulverizing them preserves their flavor and keeps the drink crisp rather than bitter. — Aly Walansky, Southern Living, 18 Aug. 2025 His recipe calls for muddling sweet Sun Gold tomatoes and fresh basil, plus a smidge of salt and sugar until juicy; then stirring in gin, vermouth, and ice until well-chilled. — The Bon Appétit Staff, Bon Appetit Magazine, 5 Sep. 2025 Ken Holland, general manager, B Holland arrived on the scene of a muddling franchise that had lost four straight first-round series to the same opponent. — Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 7 Feb. 2026 With his far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, sitting in the front row, Netanyahu took the stage, looking a little peeved, and berated the event’s organizers for muddling his slide show. — Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2025 But also muddling standard operating procedures is the fact that, according to the insider, ABC doesn’t have a dedicated late-night executive. — Shirley Halperin, Rolling Stone, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for muddling
  1. confusing
  2. baffling
  3. disrupting
  4. confounding
  5. bewildering
  6. shuffling
  7. perplexing
  8. puzzling
Adjective
  • Devine told me that e-bike and moped marketing is confusing and regulations keeping e-bikes safely classified are cloudy.
    — Doug Turnbull, AJC.com, 5 July 2026
  • That could be confusing to general audiences, especially those accustomed to seeing the heat index instead.
    — Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 3 July 2026
Definition of confusing
Verb
  • The Illinois numbers, especially this year’s, are baffling experts.
    — Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 21 June 2026
  • For more than four minutes Darnold drove downfield, connecting on three of four passes, baffling the pass rushers, bleeding the clock, and by the time the Seahawks finally gave the ball back, the Rams had only 25 seconds to live.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2026
Definition of baffling
Verb
  • Researchers have identified hormone-disrupting and asthma-associated chemicals in some consumer products and continue to investigate combinations of chemicals that may warrant closer testing.
    — Brad Reisfeld, The Conversation, 6 July 2026
  • Its tendency to rapidly reproduce, forming dense colonies on underwater surfaces, can clog pipes, pumps and critical water infrastructure while disrupting local ecosystems.
    — Reeti Malhotra, Sacbee.com, 4 July 2026
Definition of disrupting
Adjective
  • Grief is one of the most confounding aspects of the human experience.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 17 Apr. 2026
  • In 2021, one year into D’Amaro’s tenure and following COVID shutdowns, Disney did away with FastPass and introduced a confounding and very costly series of pay-to-skip passes, which require timing advanced booking of limited slots in these formerly free-to-enter shorter lines.
    — Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 5 Feb. 2026
Definition of confounding
Verb
  • Similarly, the defensively bewildering 9-6 loss the Wild suffered to start Round 2 in Colorado set the tone for five games that would ultimately be their undoing.
    — Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 3 June 2026
  • But even more than engaging the big ideas that Emma’s revelation triggers — pun somewhat intended — Lee and Borli wanted to craft an experience that would mimic its main characters’ bewildering interiority.
    — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 6 Apr. 2026
Definition of bewildering
Verb
  • Getty Images The Toronto Blue Jays have been struggling with injuries across the roster this season, shuffling the big-league roster and the lower levels of the organization as a result.
    — Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
  • The administration dissolved the CDC's Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, shuffling staffers to other divisions and interrupting work on the disease.
    — Stephanie Armour, CBS News, 1 July 2026
Definition of shuffling
Adjective
  • For some perplexing reason, Gia has decided to die on the hill that Ava is lying, despite having no way to prove that and despite the fact that Ava has no reason to lie.
    — Tom Smyth, Vulture, 2 July 2026
  • Some viewers at home, however, found the clue perplexing, noting that the clue could also be read as referring to the two most recent Best Song winners.
    — Louis Peitzman, Entertainment Weekly, 29 June 2026
Definition of perplexing
Verb
  • Just after send time yesterday morning, the Timberwolves made a puzzling splash by trading for Hornets star LaMelo Ball.
    — Chris Branch, New York Times, 26 June 2026
  • And the performances from South Korea at the World Cup so far have been puzzling, given the talent at manager Hong Myung-bo’s disposal.
    — Ian Nicholas Quillen, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026
Definition of puzzling

Browse Nearby Words

muddles
muddling
muddy
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Cite this Entry

“Muddling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/muddling. Accessed 9 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on muddling

Nglish: Translation of muddling for Spanish Speakers

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