muddle

mud·dle  (mdl)

v. mud·dled, mud·dling, mud·dles

v.tr.

1. To make turbid or muddy.

2. To mix confusedly; jumble.

3. To confuse or befuddle (the mind), as with alcohol. See Synonyms at confuse.

4. To mismanage or bungle.

5. To stir or mix (a drink) gently.

v.intr.

To think, act, or proceed in a confused or aimless manner: muddled along through my high-school years.

n.

1. A disordered condition; a mess or jumble.

2. Mental confusion.

Phrasal Verb:

muddle through

To push on to a favorable outcome in a disorganized way.

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[Possibly from obsolete Dutch moddelen, to make water muddy, from Middle Dutch, frequentative of *modden, to make muddy, from modde, mud.]

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muddler n.

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muddle

Noun

1. a state of untidiness or confusion: the files are in a terrible muddle

2. a state of mental confusion or uncertainty: the government are in a muddle over the economy

Verb

[-dling, -dled]

1. Also: (muddle up) to mix up or confuse (objects or items): you've got your books all muddled up with mine

2. to make (someone) confused: don't muddle her with too many suggestions [perhaps Middle Dutch moddelen to make muddy]

muddled adj

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Muddle a confused collection; a confused assemblage. See also jumble, mess.

Examples: muddle of objects, 1865; of paint, 1891.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	muddle - a confused multitude of things clutter, fuddle, jumble, mare's nest, smother, welter disorderliness, disorder - a condition in which things are not in their expected places; "the files are in complete disorder" rummage - a jumble of things to be given away
	2.	muddle - informal terms for a difficult situation; "he got into a terrible fix"; "he made a muddle of his marriage" fix, kettle of fish, mess, pickle, jam, hole difficulty - a condition or state of affairs almost beyond one's ability to deal with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome; "grappling with financial difficulties" dog's breakfast, dog's dinner - a poor job; a mess; "they made a real dog's breakfast of that job"
Verb	1.	muddle - make into a puddle; "puddled mire" puddle rile, roil - make turbid by stirring up the sediments of
	2.	muddle - mix up or confuse; "He muddled the issues" addle, puddle mix up, jumble, confuse - assemble without order or sense; "She jumbles the words when she is supposed to write a sentence"

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muddle

noun 1. confusion, mess, disorder, chaos, plight, tangle, mix-up, clutter, disarray, daze, predicament, jumble, ravel, perplexity, disorganization, hotchpotch, hodgepodge U.S. pig's breakfast (informal) fankle Scot.

verb 2. jumble, confuse, disorder, scramble, tangle, mix up, make a mess of

verb 3. confuse, bewilder, daze, confound, perplex, disorient, stupefy, befuddle

muddle along or through scrape by, make it, manage, cope, get along, get by (informal) manage somehow

Translations

muddle [ˈmʌdl] n → desorden m; confusión f (= mix-up); embrollo, lío

vt (also: muddle up) → embrollar, confundir

muddle along, muddle on vi → arreglárselas de alguna manera

muddle through vi → salir del paso

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muddle [ˈmʌdl] n (= mess) → pagaille f, fouillis m (= mix-up); confusion f

vt (also: muddle up) → brouiller, embrouiller;

to be in a muddle [person] → ne plus savoir où l'on en est;

to get in a muddle (while explaining etc) → s'embrouiller

muddle along vi → aller son chemin tant bien que mal

muddle through vi → se débrouiller

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muddle [ˈmʌdl] n (mess) → Durcheinander nt;

(confusion) → Verwirrung f

vt (person) → verwirren;

(also: muddle up) → durcheinanderbringen;

to be in a muddle → völlig durcheinander sein;

to get in a muddle (person) → konfus werden;

(things) → durcheinandergeraten

muddle along muddle vi → vor sich acc hin wursteln

muddle through muddle vi (get by) → sich durchschlagen

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muddle [ˈmʌdl] n → confusione f; disordine m; pasticcio

vt (also: muddle up) → mettere sottosopra; confondere;

to be in a muddle [person] → non riuscire a raccapezzarsi;

to get in a muddle (while explaining etc) → imbrogliarsi

muddle along vi → andare avanti a casaccio

muddle through vi → cavarsela alla meno peggio