muddy

Fetched 2026-10-30 (live).

Synonyms: ruddy, buddy, cuddy, mudd, puddy, middy, maddy, duddy, mundy, muddly, fuddy

Antonyms: ruddy, buddy, cuddy, mudd, puddy, middy, maddy, duddy, mundy, muddly, fuddy

Related words from Datamuse; suggestions, not definitions.

Adjective

1. Covered or splashed with, or full of, mud (“wet soil”).
   • He slogged across the muddy field.
   • Take off your muddy boots before you come inside.
2. Of water or some other liquid: containing mud or other sediment in suspension; cloudy, turbid.
   • The previously limpid water was now muddy as a result of the struggle between the alligator and the wild boar.
3. Of or relating to mud; also, having the characteristics of mud, especially in colour or taste.
4. Soiled with feces.
5. Of an animal or plant: growing or living in mud.
6. Dirty, filthy. Not clear. Of a colour: not bright: dirty, dull.
   • The television picture is decent, but the sound is muddy.
7. Dirty, filthy.
8. Not clear. Of a colour: not bright: dirty, dull.
   • The television picture is decent, but the sound is muddy.
9. Of a colour: not bright: dirty, dull.
10. Of an image: blurry or dim.
11. Of light: cloudy, opaque.
12. Of sound (especially during performance, recording, or playback): indistinct, muffled.
    • The television picture is decent, but the sound is muddy.
13. Of speech, thinking, or writing: ambiguous or vague; or confused, incoherent, or mixed-up; also, poorly expressed.
14. Of the air: not fresh; impure, polluted.
15. Originally, morally or religiously wrong; corrupt, sinful; now, morally or legally dubious; shady, sketchy.
16. Of a person or their facial expression: angry, sad, or sulky.
17. Slightly drunk; tipsy.

Verb

1. To cover or splash (someone or something) with mud.
   • If you muddy your shoes don’t wear them inside.
   • The discussion only muddied their understanding of the subject.
   • The addition of the second batch of paint muddied the bright colours to a dull and washed look.
2. To cover or splash (someone or something) with mud.
   • If you muddy your shoes don’t wear them inside.
3. To make (water or some other liquid) cloudy or turbid by stirring up mud or other sediment.
4. To confuse (a person or their thinking); to muddle.
   • The discussion only muddied their understanding of the subject.
   • The addition of the second batch of paint muddied the bright colours to a dull and washed look.
5. To confuse (a person or their thinking); to muddle.
   • The discussion only muddied their understanding of the subject.
6. To damage (a person or their reputation); to sully, to tarnish.
7. To make (a colour) dirty, dull, or muted.
   • The addition of the second batch of paint muddied the bright colours to a dull and washed look.
8. To make (a matter, etc.) more complicated or unclear; to make a mess of (something).
9. To make (something) impure; to contaminate.
10. To cause or permit (someone or something) to become stuck in mud; to mire.
11. Sometimes followed by up: to become covered or splashed with mud; to become dirty or soiled.
12. Sometimes followed by up: to become covered or splashed with mud; to become dirty or soiled.
13. Of water or some other liquid: to become cloudy or turbid.
14. To become contaminated or impure.

Noun

1. The edible mud crab or mangrove crab (Scylla serrata).

Source: Wiktionary · CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wiktionary) · cached copy, not a rewrite.