muddle
pronunciation
How to pronounce muddle in British English:
UK [ˈmʌdl]
How to pronounce muddle in American English:
US [ˈmʌdl]
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- Noun:
- a confused multitude of things
- informal terms for a difficult situation
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- Verb:
- make into a puddle
- mix up or confuse
Word Origin
- muddle (v.)
- 1590s, "destroy the clarity of" (a transferred sense); literal sense ("to bathe in mud") is from c. 1600; perhaps frequentative formation from mud, or from Dutch moddelen "to make (water) muddy," from the same Proto-Germanic source. Sense of "to make muddy" is from 1670s; that of "make confused" first recorded 1680s. Meaning "to bungle" is from 1885. Related: Muddled; muddling.
- muddle (n.)
- 1818, from muddle (v.).
Example
- 1. Muddle plays a large role .
- 2. The chancellor has been helped by the labour opposition 's muddle over the deficit .
- 3. But the current muddle also endures because there is little agreement about what should replace it .
- 4. Just maybe , the aspirations of the revolution can muddle through .
- 5. America 's new dollar policy may be less absurd than its old one , but it is still a bit of a muddle .