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
-
This lack of strategic continuity is confusing, even for the players.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Mar. 2026
-
The next few seconds were chaotic and confusing.—
Rachel Monroe,
New Yorker,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The steel pipe's unexpected growth spurt was reported to police early Wednesday by a pedestrian who saw broken pieces of asphalt falling from the cylinder, baffling people passing by and causing traffic congestion.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Though still fuming from his team’s baffling loss to the Bulls – the Warriors squandered an eight-point lead with 91 seconds remaining – Kerr found his composure long enough to crack a joke.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Aid workers at Ladan say the raging war in the Middle East — more than 3,000 kilometers (1,800 miles) away — has made their work harder, disrupting supplies and sending fuel costs soaring.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Mar. 2026
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In a moment when the market is worried about the technology disrupting a slew of online companies' business models, Young believes Chewy is a safe play.—
Davis Giangiulio,
CNBC,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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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
-
There aren’t many ways to earn a club’s first win better than bewildering the league’s defending champions at their place.—
Braidon Nourse,
Denver Post,
26 Mar. 2026
-
McNutt housed some 700 kids — about one-third of the population of French Lick — and Bird found the campus outside the dormitory walls bewildering.—
Keith O'Brien,
Rolling Stone,
22 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
These chips spend most of their energy shuffling data between a memory unit and a processor.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
20 Mar. 2026
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So what better way to cap all that off than closing out the Oscars — even if the clip played while the audience was shuffling out of the theater and calling their Ubers.—
Tom Smyth,
Vulture,
16 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Project Hail Mary is an entertaining, if perplexing, film.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
19 Mar. 2026
-
Radziwill’s absence has been somewhat perplexing.—
Elizabeth Logan,
Glamour,
19 Mar. 2026
Verb
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So the absence of any real investment in the interior offensive line this offseason is puzzling.—
Pat Leonard,
New York Daily News,
17 Mar. 2026
-
Told initially from his child-like perspective, the narrator reflects on a disorienting, puzzling day when his father picked him up late from school.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
13 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Muddling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/muddling. Accessed 28 Mar. 2026.
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