I. mud ‧ dy 1 /ˈmʌdi/ BrE AmE adjective
1 . covered with mud or containing mud:
Take your boots off outside if they’re muddy.
the muddy waters of the lake
2 . confused and not clear:
On the issue of education, the difference between the two parties is muddy.
3 . colours that are muddy are dull:
The carpet was an unpleasant muddy brown.
4 . sounds that are muddy are not clear
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THESAURUS
▪ dirty not clean:
His clothes were untidy and he had dirty hands.
▪ filthy very dirty:
Each year filthy water causes millions of cases of illness.
▪ muddy covered with mud:
It had been raining hard and the path was muddy.
▪ dusty covered with dust:
the dusty shelves in the attic
▪ greasy covered with oil or grease:
Greasy food is bad for your health.
▪ grubby ( also mucky British English ) informal fairly dirty and needing to be cleaned or washed:
He was wearing a grubby white T-shirt.
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mucky fingers
▪ grimy covered with thick dirt or dirt that has been there a long time:
I couldn’t see much out of the grimy windows of the train.
▪ dingy /ˈdɪndʒi/ looking dark, dirty, and unpleasant. Used about rooms, houses, and buildings:
We worked in a dingy little office behind the station.
▪ polluted used about land, water, or air that has been made dirty:
85% of city dwellers breathe heavily polluted air.
▪ contaminated made dirty by a dangerous substance or bacteria:
The virus is mainly spread through contaminated food.
▪ squalid /ˈskwɒləd, ˈskwɒlɪd $ ˈskwɑː-/ formal extremely dirty and unpleasant. Used about the place or conditions in which someone lives:
People are living in squalid conditions, with little water and no sanitation.
▪ unhygienic /ʌnhaɪˈdʒiːnɪk◂ $ -ˈdʒe-, -ˈdʒiː-/ formal used about dirty conditions that are likely to cause disease, especially conditions in kitchens, restaurants, and hospitals:
The food was prepared under unhygienic conditions.
▪ unsanitary ( also insanitary British English ) formal used about dirty conditions that are likely to cause disease, especially because there is not a good system for getting rid of waste:
People’s health is being threatened by overcrowded and insanitary homes.
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They work for long hours in unsanitary conditions.
▪ soiled formal made dirty, especially by waste from your body:
Soiled nappies should be changed as quickly as possible.
II. muddy 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle muddied , present participle muddying , third person singular muddies ) [transitive]
1 . to make something dirty with mud:
Lizzy walked around the edge of the field, taking care not to muddy her new shoes.
2 . muddy the waters/the issue to make a situation more complicated or confusing than it was before – used to show disapproval