■ verb
1》 bring into a disordered or confusing state.
↘( ~ something up ) confuse two or more things with each other.
2》 confuse (a person).
3》 ( ~ through (or Brit. along) ) cope more or less satisfactorily.
4》 US mix (a drink) or stir (an ingredient) into a drink.
■ noun a ~d state.
Derivatives
~d adjective
~r noun
muddling adjective
muddlingly adverb
muddly adjective
Origin
ME (in the sense 'wallow in mud'): perh. from MDu. moddelen , frequentative of modden 'dabble in mud'; cf. mud .