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
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of muddling
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
Adjective
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
Verb
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In May, Kennedy vowed to find what caused autism by September, baffling scientists who near-unanimously believe there is no one cause of the condition.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
22 Sep. 2025
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This is stuttering, crashing and other issues, even on high-end hardware way above recommended specs, which is baffling some.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Ride-hailing giants Uber and Bolt are disrupting Kenya’s lucrative safari market with new services that are driving fears of price cuts among traditional tour operators.—
Martin K.N Siele,
semafor.com,
3 Oct. 2025
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Cuban founded Cost Plus Drugs, a similar direct-to-consumer (DTC) platform, in 2022 with the goal of disrupting the health care industry.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Most intriguing is how these groups will be submitted among the rock, metal and alternative categories, distinctions that only get more confusing as time marches on.—
Alan Light,
HollywoodReporter,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Annie and Nick Annie and Nick's path to getting engaged was winding and confusing.—
Sydney Bucksbaum,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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And aren’t our real-life romantic complications bewildering enough?—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
4 Sep. 2025
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Its ginormous investments in higher-value, tech-heavy sectors from smartphones to autos to semiconductors to biotechnology are disrupting the global landscape at bewildering speed.—
William Pesek,
Forbes.com,
27 Aug. 2025
Verb
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To him, the equipment staff shuffling pieces around on the field during practice is just as important as the head coach standing by.—
Christopher Kamrani,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
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During the 2024 rampage, two suspects wearing masks were captured on surveillance video shuffling up a driveway and firing weapons towards the home.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Tuesday will go down as one of Boston’s most confounding losses of the season, a 4-3 defeat in 11 innings to the Baltimore Orioles in which the club went 0 for 13 with runners in scoring position.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
22 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The observations detected a puzzling event as the planet transitioned from a steady accretion rate in April and May to a burst of growth between June and August.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
2 Oct. 2025
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These include one in which Arthur sports a full beard, a puzzling image given that Arthur has only a mustache.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
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When a school principal (Ashley Padilla) and a teacher (Mikey Day) reprimand a student (Hernandez) for disturbing drawings of him attacking the principal, the student’s father (Bad Bunny) comes in, and Padilla’s principal, immediately smitten, changes course to hitting on the student’s father.—
Rima Parikh,
Vulture,
5 Oct. 2025
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Something, the researchers said, must be disturbing these orbits and tilting them.—
Jacopo Prisco,
CNN Money,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Muddling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/muddling. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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