muddle

[muhd-l] /ˈmʌd l/
verb (used with object), muddled, muddling.
1.
to mix up in a confused or bungling manner; jumble.
2.
to cause to become mentally confused.
3.
to cause to become confused or stupid with or as if with an intoxicating drink.
4.
to make muddy or turbid, as water.
5.
to mix or stir (a cocktail, chocolate, etc.).
6.
Ceramics. to smooth (clay) by rubbing it on glass.
verb (used without object), muddled, muddling.
7.
to behave, proceed, or think in a confused or aimless fashion or with an air of improvisation:
Some people just muddle along, waiting for their big break.
noun
8.
the state or condition of being muddled, especially a confused mental state.
9.
a confused, disordered, or embarrassing condition; mess.
Verb phrases
10.
muddle through, to achieve a certain degree of success but without much skill, polish, experience, or direction:
None of us knew much about staging a variety show, so we just had to muddle through.
Origin
1540-50; mud + -le; cognate with Middle Dutch moddelen to muddy
Related forms
muddledness, muddlement, noun
muddlingly, adverb
premuddle, noun, verb (used with object), premuddled, premuddling.
unmuddled, adjective
Synonyms
1. confuse, botch, bungle, spoil.
British Dictionary definitions for muddle through

muddle through

verb
1.
(intransitive, adverb) (mainly Brit) to succeed in some undertaking in spite of lack of organization

muddle

/ˈmʌdəl/
verb (transitive)
1.
(often foll by up) to mix up (objects, items, etc); jumble
2.
to confuse
3.
to make (water) muddy or turbulent
4.
(US) to mix or stir (alcoholic drinks, etc)
noun
5.
a state of physical or mental confusion
Derived Forms
muddled, adjective
muddledness, muddlement, noun
muddling, adjective, noun
muddlingly, adverb
muddly, adjective
Word Origin
C16: perhaps from Middle Dutch moddelen to make muddy
Word Origin and History for muddle through

muddle

v.

1590s, "destroy the clarity of" (a transferred sense); literal sense ("to bathe in mud") is from c.1600; perhaps frequentative formation from mud, or from Dutch moddelen "to make (water) muddy," from the same Proto-Germanic source. Sense of "to make muddy" is from 1670s; that of "make confused" first recorded 1680s. Meaning "to bungle" is from 1885. Related: Muddled; muddling.

n.

1818, from muddle (v.).

Idioms and Phrases with muddle through

muddle through

Blunder through something, manage but awkwardly, as in The choir never knows how to line up, but we muddle through somehow. [ Early 1900s ]