1
as in baffling
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
a car shopper thoroughly muddled by too much well-meaning advice
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in confusing
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for muddling
Verb
-
Robertson had a good sequence throwing a big hit on Gage Goncalves and disrupting his shot attempt seconds later.—
Omar White,
New York Times,
10 Apr. 2025 -
Artificial intelligence is already disrupting numerous sectors across society.—
Jeff McDonald,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Apr. 2025
Verb
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But the $12 billion decline in his fortune has more to do with asset shuffling than stock price movement.—
Julie Goldenberg,
Forbes,
21 Dec. 2024
-
James has been shuffling back and forth between the NBA and the G League.—
Benedict Cosgrove,
Newsweek,
19 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
Ehlers’ usage with the Jets has long been perplexing with 2024-25 being his third straight season playing under 16 minutes.—
Dom Luszczyszyn,
New York Times,
17 June 2025
-
In the end, Blakey said, the forces that landed Madigan in his courtroom were perplexing.—
Ray Long,
Chicago Tribune,
15 June 2025
Verb
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Researchers are particularly focused on unraveling the puzzling interplay between gas content, magma pressure and lava flow dynamics.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
3 Jan. 2025
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Almost two years into his ordeal, Gould learned of an initiative at the National Institutes of Health that focuses on solving the country’s most puzzling medical cases.—
Jason Liebowitz,
The Atlantic,
2 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Don’t come over here disturbing my peace if mahogany queens aren’t your preferred type.—
Elizabeth Ayoola,
Essence,
10 Apr. 2025
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Crimping is the process of severing a crop at the base and laying it over to create a decomposing thatch/mulch layer for the garden without disturbing the soil.—
Anthony Reardon,
Kansas City Star,
21 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The recent Norwegian movie Handling the Undead uses zombies as a profoundly upsetting exploration of grief.—
James Grebey,
Time,
20 June 2025
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An arson task force announced that the incident had nothing to do with Moore, upsetting Johnson.—
Alexis Okeowo,
New Yorker,
16 June 2025
Adjective
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And developers who take on the spatial complexities of working with old architecture face a dismaying array of bureaucratic and financial challenges.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
27 June 2025
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And yet the industry is beset by a dismaying trend: More and more, people are watching movies on their laptops, tablets, and smartphones.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
21 Feb. 2014
Adjective
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This book is his opus, one bewildering, confusing, meandering, and disorienting episodic tale after another involving reporters, runways, and casinos, back when Vegas was gloriously trashy.—
Brian Boone,
Vulture,
18 June 2025
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The judge’s tone is one of bewilderment because these circumstances are indeed bewildering, and no doubt would be to the Founding Fathers who expressly rejected monarchy and established a system of government where the citizenry would be free to express its discontent at government policies.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
15 June 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Muddling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/muddling. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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