Muddy the waters Meaning in English

expression

US

ˈmədi/ /ˈðə/, /ðə/, /ði/ /ˈwɔtɝz

MUH-dee thuh WAW-terz

UK

mˈʌdi/ /ðə, ði/ /wˈɔːtəz

MUD-dee thuh WAW-tuz

التعريف

To make a situation more confusing or complicated, especially when it was already unclear.

الاستخدام والفروق الدقيقة

This is an idiomatic, informal phrase, often used in discussions or debates when someone adds details or ideas that confuse the issue. It's usually negative. Common in phrases like 'Don't muddy the waters.' Not used literally.

• Spanish: complicar las cosas - confundir la situación
• Portuguese (BR): complicar a situação - confundir as coisas
• Portuguese (PT): complicar a situação - confundir as coisas
• Chinese (Simplified): 把事情搞混 - 使局势更复杂
• Chinese (Traditional): 把事情搞混 - 使局勢更複雜
• Hindi: स्थिति को उलझाना - बातें और भ्रमित करना
• Arabic: تعقيد الأمور - إدخال المزيد من الإرباك
• Bengali: জল ঘোলা করা - পরিস্থিতি আরও জটিল করা
• Russian: вносить путаницу - усложнять ситуацию
• Japanese: 話をややこしくする - 混乱させる
• Vietnamese: làm mọi thứ rối thêm - làm vấn đề thêm phức tạp
• Korean: 물을 흐리다 - 상황을 복잡하게 만들다
• Turkish: suları bulandırmak - işi karıştırmak
• Urdu: صورتحال کو الجھانا - معاملہ پیچیدہ کرنا
• Indonesian: memperkeruh keadaan - membuat keadaan semakin rumit

جمل نموذجية

Your questions only muddy the waters instead of helping.

basic

Don't muddy the waters with unnecessary details.

basic

Bringing up old stories will only muddy the waters.

basic

He tried to muddy the waters to avoid answering the question directly.

natural

Let’s not muddy the waters—we need a clear solution here.

natural

Their new comments just muddy the waters and make it harder to decide.

natural