# muddy

/ˈmədi/ (US) · /mˈʌdi/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/muddy
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. covered in mud

adjective · CEFR A2

covered or splashed with wet soil.

For teachers: covered, splashed, or filled with mud; containing sediment in suspension.

- The children came inside with muddy boots after playing in the garden.
- The hikers struggled to maintain their footing on the muddy trail after three days of torrential rain had turned the path into a swamp.

### 2. not clear

adjective · CEFR B2

not clear or bright, like a dark colour or a confusing sound.

For teachers: lacking clarity or brightness; used of colours that are dull or sounds that are muffled.

- The recording was old and had a muddy sound that made it hard to hear the singer.
- The artist's decision to mix too many pigments resulted in a muddy brown that lacked the vibrancy of the original sketch.

### 3. to make dirty

verb · CEFR B2

to cover something with mud or make a liquid cloudy.

For teachers: to soil with mud or to make a liquid turbid by stirring up sediment. Transitive use.

- The passing car splashed through a puddle and muddied my clean trousers.
- Heavy cattle traffic had muddied the stream to the point where the water was no longer suitable for the camp's filtration system.

### 4. to complicate a situation

verb · CEFR B2

to make a situation or an idea more confusing and less clear.

For teachers: to make a matter, argument, or situation more complicated or less clear; often used in the phrase 'muddy the waters'.

- Adding more rules now will only muddy the situation for the new staff.
- The lawyer's constant interruptions seemed designed to muddy the waters and distract the jury from the primary evidence.

## Examples

- Adding too many details will only muddy the story.
- The lawyer tried to muddy the waters by bringing up the witness's personal life during the trial.
- The introduction of conflicting data served only to muddy the debate, preventing the committee from reaching a consensus on the environmental impact of the new factory.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.