frequently_asked_questions_files/Oxford Thesaurus.pdf

muddle v. 1 bewilder, confuse, confound, mystify, baffle, mix up,
disorient, befuddle, perplex, bemuse, puzzle, befog: I am
totally muddled by your explanation of differential calculus. 2
confuse, mix up, jumble, scramble, entangle, tangle, mess up,
disorder, disarrange, disorganize, bungle, mismanage, Colloq
muff: My financial affairs got hopelessly muddled when I
changed banks. 3 muddle through. (barely) manage, cope, make
it, scrape through or along, contrive, make do, get by, get
along: We were just muddling through when James was offered
this wonderful job.
--n. 4 mess, confusion, mix-up, jumble, tangle, disorder,
hotchpotch or US also hodgepodge, mishmash, chaos, disaster,
Colloq stew, Slang US screw-up, snafu, Taboo slang Brit
balls-up: A lot of muddles, mix-ups, and misunderstandings
ensued.
muddy adj. 1 fouled, befouled, muddied, mud-spattered, dirty, grubby,
grimy, soiled, mud-caked, slimy, mucky, miry; oozy, squelchy,
squashy, boggy, fenny, marshy, swampy; Formal feculent; Colloq
squishy, squushy: Take off those muddy boots before you come
into the house. The walk up to the house has become all muddy in
the rain. 2 confused, unclear, vague, obscure, dull, dim, fuzzy,
muddled, addled, mixed-up: Greg has only a muddy idea of what
you're talking about. 3 drab, subdued, blurred, dingy, flat,
murky, mat, washed out: The colours in her paintings look very
muddy to me.
--v. 4 obscure, dull, dim, confuse, mix up, befog, cloud: His
explanation muddied the issue rather than clarifying it. 5
dirty, soil, begrime, smirch, besmirch, spatter, bespatter: A
passing car muddied my new skirt.
muffle v. 1 Often, muffle up. wrap, swathe, swaddle, cloak, envelop,
cover (up), enfold, shroud, enshroud, conceal, protect: Make
sure your neck is muffled when you're out in that icy wind. 2
deaden, silence, suppress, stifle, subdue, damp, dampen, mute,
hush, quiet, tone down, still: A few more thicknesses of
flannel will muffle the noise of the motor.
muffler n. scarf, boa; shawl, wrap: Wrap this muffler round your neck
for added warmth.