muddying

verb

present participle of muddy
1
as in confusing
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty my mind had been thoroughly muddied by the long hours of exacting work

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in obfuscating
to make (something) unclear to the understanding that argument is irrelevant and will just muddy the issue we're trying to resolve

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in staining
to make dirty forgot to take off our shoes and accidentally muddied the kitchen floor

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of muddying Her father is also fighting as a soldier in the Ukrainian Army, further muddying things. — Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026 But Trump’s approval ratings have suffered a year and a half into his second term and are muddying a race that Blakeman wants to keep squarely focused on Hochul and her management of the state. — David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 15 Aug. 2026 Conflicting accounts of bilateral engagement are muddying the progress of a deal to open the Hormuz strait. — Sean Conlon,hugh Leask,justina Lee,sarah Min, CNBC, 6 Aug. 2026 In essence, the excellent second season is dedicated to muddying the myth of heroes and villains, in that heroes don’t have to put themselves above anyone in order to lead. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 2 Aug. 2026 Bird baths should be placed at least 10 to 15 feet away from nearby feeders to keep bird seed and other debris from muddying up the water. — Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 July 2026 Led by music-industry mogul Irving Azoff, the Oak View Group might have found itself with new competition after Legends Global entered the mix, but on Wednesday city officials appeared uninterested in further muddying the convoluted sale of the 112-acre complex. — Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 18 June 2026 The Falcons don’t want any live pass rushers muddying the pocket and putting Penix at risk before he’s completely recovered from his knee injury. — Daniel Flick, AJC.com, 15 June 2026 In more recent drops, FIFA has also introduced Category 1 front-row seating at some games, further muddying the waters. — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 10 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for muddying
  1. confusing
  2. obfuscating
  3. staining
  4. baffling
  5. blurring
  6. dirtying
  7. puzzling
  8. clouding
Verb
  • Then began the desperate, confusing search for their colleagues.
    — Ross Adkin, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Summary Founders frequently misjudge their business's worth, often confusing revenue with actual value.
    — Lien De Pau, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of confusing
Verb
  • The lawsuit expanded on that, accusing the village of obfuscating the nature of the development during the earlier stages of approvals.
    — Joseph States, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026
  • The revelation is the latest example of how engaging the technology — and obfuscating such use — can roil audiences eager to support new films.
    — Corbin Bolies, Variety, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of obfuscating
Verb
  • Foods like tomato sauce and chocolate can cause staining if they aren’t wiped up right away.
    — Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Her hobbies include quilting, gardening and refurbishing furniture with Bill, with Hiers often adding the finishing touches by staining and painting their projects.
    — Doris Alvarez Cea, Florida Times-Union, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of staining
Verb
  • Despite some protests about a dog contributing to the game, Buddy — clad in a bright blue jersey and two pairs of basketball kicks — scores baffling basket after baffling basket, leaving the other team shocked.
    — Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 27 July 2026
  • While Loathe’s baffling compositional choices may jump out first, the album’s most glaring flaw is its production.
    — Patrick Lyons, Pitchfork, 16 July 2026
Definition of baffling
Verb
  • Sure, some people like your reporting of each but FFS stop blurring them.
    — Art de Roché, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Meta could introduce technical solutions, like automatically blurring faces, as Google does in Street View images, but Szydlowski doubts Meta would voluntarily make such a privacy-conscious change without regulatory or public pressure.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of blurring
Verb
  • Satisfy your lasagna craving without dirtying up a pile of dishes.
    — Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 9 July 2026
  • Keep them in reserve as a sleep sock to ward off icy toes and prevent sweat and skin oils from dirtying your down sleeping bag.
    — Adam Roy, Outside, 28 Dec. 2025
Definition of dirtying
Verb
  • Over the course of her prolific career, Zambreno has written 10 books — each as puzzling and surprising as the last.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026
  • The bizarre body plan Before this discovery, there was a puzzling 80-million-year gap in the fossil record.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of puzzling
Verb
  • The detention of Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu on Thursday risks clouding Lusaka’s credentials as a relatively stable southern African democracy and denting investor confidence in Africa’s second-largest copper producer.
    — Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • In addition to the starters who have yet to practice for the Panthers, a couple of notable first- and second-year players have been sidelined recently, clouding the roster picture a bit.
    — Joseph Person, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of clouding

Browse Nearby Words

muddy
muddying
mudslide
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Cite this Entry

“Muddying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/muddying. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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