muddy the waters

verb

To make something unclear and difficult to understand.

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Meanings

verbmuddy the waters (third-person singular simple present muddies the waters, present participle muddying the waters, simple past and past participle muddied the waters)

present singular third person muddies the waters · participle present muddying the waters · participle past muddied the waters · past muddied the waters · alternative muddy the water

  1. idiomaticinformalTo make something unclear and difficult to understand.

    "Some applications will fail. ORR does not need strong-arm tactics from DfT muddying the waters."

    2025 July 9, David Stubbings, “Network News: Open access row: DfT accused of "strong-arm tactics"”, in RAIL, number 1039, page 6
    2 more examples

    He insisted that the Basque separatist group Eta remained the main line of investigation, and suggested the tape may have been an attempt to muddy the waters.

    2004 March 12, Giles Tremlett, “The clues that point towards al-Qaida”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

    “Thank you for having me on,” Banks began. The one statement he made that sounded genuinely credible. It’s not often that someone accused of electoral fraud gets to muddy the waters on live television ahead of a possible criminal investigation.

    2018 November 4, John Crace, “Marr founders on the Rocks of Arron Banks's muddy waters”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 攪渾水 /搅浑水
  • 攪渾水 /搅浑水 (jiǎo húnshuǐ)To make something unclear and difficult to understand
Finnish sotkea asiaa, hämmentää
  • sotkea asiaaTo make something unclear and difficult to understand
  • hämmentääTo make something unclear and difficult to understand
French noyer le poisson, brouiller les pistes
  • noyer le poissonTo make something unclear and difficult to understand
  • brouiller les pistesTo make something unclear and difficult to understand
Greek θολώνω τα νερά
  • θολώνω τα νερά (tholóno ta nerá)To make something unclear and difficult to understand
Italian intorbidare le acque, confondere le acque
  • intorbidare le acqueTo make something unclear and difficult to understand
  • confondere le acqueTo make something unclear and difficult to understand
  • offuscare la questioneTo make something unclear and difficult to understand
  • eludere il problemaTo make something unclear and difficult to understand
  • sviare l'attenzioneTo make something unclear and difficult to understand
  • tergiversareTo make something unclear and difficult to understand
  • svicolareTo make something unclear and difficult to understand
Polish zaciemniać obraz
  • zaciemniać obrazTo make something unclear and difficult to understand
Russian мути́ть во́ду
  • мути́ть во́ду (mutítʹ vódu)To make something unclear and difficult to understand
Cite this entry
APA

muddy the waters. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/muddy%20the%20waters

MLA

“muddy the waters.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/muddy%20the%20waters. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “muddy the waters,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/muddy%20the%20waters.

Source: muddy the waters on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.