/ ˈmʌdl; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb [ vn ] ( especially BrE )
1.
muddle sth (up) to put things in the wrong order or mix them up :
Don't do that—you're muddling my papers.
Their letters were all muddled up together in a drawer.
2.
muddle sb (up) to confuse sb :
Slow down a little—you're muddling me.
3.
muddle sb/sth (up) | muddle A (up) with B to confuse one person or thing with another
SYN mix up :
I muddled the dates and arrived a week early.
He got all muddled up about what went where.
They look so alike, I always get them muddled up .
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PHRASAL VERBS
- muddle along
- muddle through
■ noun ( especially BrE )
1.
[ C , usually sing. ] a state of mental confusion :
Can you start from the beginning again—I'm in a muddle .
2.
[ C , usually sing. , U ] muddle (about / over sth) a situation in which there is confusion about arrangements, etc. and things are done wrong :
There was a muddle over the theatre tickets.
There followed a long period of confusion and muddle.
3.
[ C , usually sing. , U ] a state of confusion in which things are untidy
SYN mess :
My papers are all in a muddle .
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English (in the sense wallow in mud ): perhaps from Middle Dutch moddelen , frequentative of modden dabble in mud; compare with mud . The sense confuse was initially associated with alcoholic drink (late 17th cent.), giving rise to busy oneself in a confused way and jumble up (mid 19th cent.).