Synonyms for muddle
noun
Confusion
confusion, mess, jumble; see confusion 2.
Difficulty
perplexity, quandary, predicament, pother, dilemma, complication, intricacy, complexity, awkwardness, involvement, emergency, struggle, unmanageableness, encumbrance, jam*, pickle*; see also difficulty 2, puzzle. See syn. study at confusion.
verb
To confuse; said of affairs
stir up, misarrange, disarrange, entangle, foul, mix, jumble, bungle, derange, shake up, mess, botch, potter, clutter, snarl, pi, complicate, disorder; see also confuse.
To confuse; said usually of people
disturb, perturb, ruffle; see confuse.
See muddle in Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus II
verb
To put out of proper order:
derange, disarrange, disarray, disorder, disorganize, disrupt, disturb, jumble, mess up, mix up, tumble, unsettle, upset. See orderTo put into total disorder:
ball up, confuse, disorder, jumble, mess up, scramble, snarl2. (Slang) snafu. Idiom: play havoc with. See orderTo cause to be unclear in mind or intent:
addle, befuddle, bewilder, confound, confuse, discombobulate, dizzy, fuddle, jumble, mix up, mystify, perplex, puzzle. (Informal) throw. Idiom: make one's head reel (or swim) (or whirl). See clear, feelingsTo harm irreparably through inept handling; make a mess:
ball up, blunder, boggle, botch, bungle, foul up, fumble, gum up, mess up, mishandle, mismanage, muff, spoil. (Informal) bollix up, muck up. (Slang) blow1, goof up, louse up, screw up, snafu. Idiom: make a muck of. See correct, helpTo proceed or perform in an unsteady, faltering manner:
blunder, bumble1, bungle, flounder, fudge, fumble, limp, shuffle, stagger, stumble. See thrive
phrasal verb muddle throughTo progress or perform adequately, especially in difficult circumstances:
do, fare, fend, get along, get by, manage, shift. (Informal) make out. Idioms: make do, make shift. See thrive
noun
A lack of order or regular arrangement:
chaos, clutter, confusedness, confusion, derangement, disarrangement, disarray, disorder, disorderedness, disorderliness, disorganization, jumble, mess, mix-up, muss, scramble, topsy-turviness, tumble. (Slang) snafu. See orderA ruinous state of disorder:
botch, foul-up, mess, shambles. (Informal) hash. (Slang) screwup, snafu. See correct, orderA stunned or bewildered condition:
befuddlement, bewilderedness, bewilderment, daze, discombobulation, fog, mystification, perplexity, puzzlement, stupefaction, stupor, trance. See awareness
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