as in confusing
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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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of muddling
Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 7 Feb. 2026
The new estimate was based on accounting for some of those muddling data points.
—Andrew Joseph, STAT, 29 Jan. 2026
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
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
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
That’s muddling the outlook for rate cuts.
—Bryan Mena, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2025
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
The case sparked numerous videos by amatuer investigators posting on Youtube and Facebook, muddling up the tip line for information.
—Kirsten Fiscus, Nashville Tennessean, 14 Aug. 2025
Verb
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
The new estimate was based on accounting for some of those muddling data points.
—Andrew Joseph, STAT, 29 Jan. 2026
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
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
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
That’s muddling the outlook for rate cuts.
—Bryan Mena, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2025
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
The case sparked numerous videos by amatuer investigators posting on Youtube and Facebook, muddling up the tip line for information.
—Kirsten Fiscus, Nashville Tennessean, 14 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for muddling
Adjective
-
In a world with so many single-use items, knowing the most conscious way to dispose of them can be confusing.—
Julia James,
Dallas Morning News,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Now young people dress according to the fad du jour, or simply combine lots of different aesthetics into one oftentimes confusing melange.—
José Criales-Unzueta,
Vanity Fair,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Georgia basketball’s matchup with Tennessee ended in baffling fashion Wednesday night.—
Olivia Sayer,
AJC.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
The pilot of a private jet reportedly made an eerie discovery while flying thousands of feet over Rhode Island, marking the latest in unexplained encounters baffling both experts and civilians alike.—
Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
22 Dec. 2025
Verb
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And Palantir cofounder Thiel has been disrupting the college-to-job pipeline for much longer.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
20 Feb. 2026
-
The guest list is high-profile enough that the street in front of the building, a main artery in the city, is cordoned off for the entire evening, disrupting tram service, and dozens of police officers are stationed outside.—
Valeriya Safronova,
Vanity Fair,
19 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
The Eagles were a confounding defending champion throughout the regular season.—
Jeff Howe,
New York Times,
5 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Even a principled, well-meaning actor like Claude could face bewildering ethical conflicts.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
-
And aren’t our real-life romantic complications bewildering enough?—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Metcalf and Pullman are both wonderful in their shuffling ordinariness, reenacting long-obsolete parental dynamics with a kind of rueful, hopeful denial.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Bridgerton treats it as though every woman got multiples of their yearbook photo to hand around as headshots, and Benedict’s taking what would have been treasured personal heirlooms and just shuffling through them and tossing out anyone with the wrong hair color.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The craze is perplexing to parents, but Bennett said the Hornets have embraced it to bring joy to young people.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Feb. 2026
-
The oven was equally perplexing.—
Jason Fried,
The Atlantic,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Michigan's moose population has stagnated after being reintroduced in the 1980s, puzzling scientists.—
Free Press staff,
Freep.com,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Polestar’s willingness to deviate from the status quo of carmaking was commendable, but its strategies have been puzzling since the very beginning.—
Adam Ismail,
The Drive,
18 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Muddling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/muddling. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.
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