Dictionaries › English

muddle

Pronunciation: /ˈmʌdl̩/

The English word “muddle” has 11 meanings listed here.

verb

  1. To mix together, to mix up; to confuse.
  2. To mash slightly for use in a cocktail.
  3. To dabble in mud.
  4. To make turbid or muddy.
  5. To think and act in a confused, aimless way.
  6. To cloud or stupefy; to render stupid with liquor; to intoxicate partially.
  7. To waste or misuse, as one does who is stupid or intoxicated.

noun

  1. A mixture; a confusion; a garble.
  2. A mixture of crushed ingredients, as prepared with a muddler.
  3. A muddy mess.
  4. A servant's attendant; underservant.

Etymology

From Middle English modelen (attested in present participle modeland (“wallowing”)), from Middle Dutch moddelen (“to make muddy”), from modde, mod (“mud”) (Modern Dutch modder). By surface analysis, mud + -le. Compare German Kuddelmuddel.

Keep exploring: in the interactive dictionary every word of a definition is a link. Open “muddle” there

More English words

About this dictionary

The English dictionary on Glottosphere has 650,529 entries with a page. Browse the English dictionary.

Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.