muddle through


Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms, Encyclopedia.
Related to muddle through: muddle up, wreak havoc

mud·dle

 (mŭd′l)
v. mud·dled, mud·dling, mud·dles
v.tr.
1.
a. To mix together, especially confusedly: The various flavors are muddled in this recipe.
b. To mix (a drink or the ingredients of a drink), especially with a muddler.
2.
a. To put into a state of confusion; confuse: Emotional rhetoric will only muddle the debate on the issue.
b. To confuse or befuddle (a person or the mind, for example). See Synonyms at befuddle.
3. To mismanage or bungle: muddle a task.
4. To make turbid or muddy.
v.intr.
To think, act, or proceed in a confused or aimless manner: muddled along through my high-school years.
n.
1. A disordered condition; a mess or jumble.
2. A state of mental confusion.
3. See muddler.
Phrasal Verb:
muddle through
To push on to a favorable outcome in a disorganized way.
[Possibly from obsolete Dutch moddelen, to make water muddy, from Middle Dutch, frequentative of *modden, to make muddy, from modde, mud.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

muddle through

vb
(intr, adverb) chiefly Brit to succeed in some undertaking in spite of lack of organization
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

muddle

verb
1. To put out of proper order:
derange, disarrange, disarray, disorder, disorganize, disrupt, disturb, jumble, mess up, mix up, tumble, unsettle, upset.
2. To put into total disorder:
ball up, confuse, disorder, jumble, mess up, scramble, snarl.
Slang: snafu.
Idiom: play havoc with.
3. To cause to be unclear in mind or intent:
addle, befuddle, bewilder, confound, confuse, discombobulate, dizzy, fuddle, jumble, mix up, mystify, perplex, puzzle.
Informal: throw.
Idiom: make one's head reel.
4. To harm irreparably through inept handling; make a mess:
ball up, blunder, boggle, botch, bungle, foul up, fumble, gum up, mess up, mishandle, mismanage, muff, spoil.
Informal: bollix up, muck up.
Slang: blow, goof up, louse up, screw up, snafu.
Idiom: make a muck of.
5. To proceed or perform in an unsteady, faltering manner:
blunder, bumble, bungle, flounder, fudge, fumble, limp, shuffle, stagger, stumble.
phrasal verb
muddle through
To progress or perform adequately, especially in difficult circumstances:
do, fare, fend, get along, get by, manage, shift.
Informal: make out.
Idioms: make do, make shift.
noun
1. A lack of order or regular arrangement:
chaos, clutter, confusedness, confusion, derangement, disarrangement, disarray, disorder, disorderedness, disorderliness, disorganization, jumble, mess, mix-up, muss, scramble, topsy-turviness, tumble.
Slang: snafu.
2. A ruinous state of disorder:
botch, foul-up, mess, shambles.
Informal: hash.
Slang: screwup, snafu.
3. A stunned or bewildered condition:
befuddlement, bewilderedness, bewilderment, daze, discombobulation, fog, mystification, perplexity, puzzlement, stupefaction, stupor, trance.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations

w>muddle through

vi → durchkommen, sich (irgendwie) durchwursteln (inf) → or durchschlagen
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
References in periodicals archive ?
For example, the stereotype that feminists are always eager to participate in feminist political work imposes on feminist scholars the expectation of an "open-door policy," causing them to muddle through the issue of when, if ever, it is appropriate to lock the door and hide behind it!
A Feminist I: Reflections from Academia. (Book Reviews: Comptes Rendus)
Dictionary browser ?
Full browser ?