muddilyadv.
/ˈmʌdᵻli/, U.S. /ˈmədəli/ 1. Obscurely, confusingly; unclearly, in a blurred way.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > weakness of intellect > confusion, muddle-headedness > [adverb]
muddily1648
muddle-headedly1909
woozilya1911
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > perplexity, bewilderment > [adverb]
confusedly1502
amazedly1561
out1585
perplexedly1587
distractedly1608
muddily1648
confoundedly1672
turbidly1728
puzzledly1870
unclearly1875
muddledly1914
distraughtly1926
wuzzily1964
the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > misjudgement > indiscriminateness > [adverb]
indifferentlyc1374
indistinctlyc1420
confusedly?1531
undistinctly1548
confusely?c1550
without respect?c1550
without choice1576
intermixedlya1586
unrespectively1586
pell-mell1587
promiscuously1593
mixedly1597
indiscriminate1598
promiscually1602
swoopstake1603
promiscuous1616
irrespectively1624
muddily1648
indiscriminately1652
humdrum1660
indiscriminally1665
undistinguishingly1665
indeterminatelya1676
indiscriminatively1684
indistinguishably1689
indiscretely1698
indistinctively1699
undiscerningly1707
uncritically1763
indiscriminatingly1824
undiscriminatingly1894
unfastidiously1929
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > obscurity > [adverb]
darklyc1350
mistilya1382
murklya1400
obscurelya1527
muddily1648
unclearly1648
reconditely1722
abstrusely1734
1648 W. Jenkyn Ὁδηγος Τυϕλος iv. 103 You having..gone over my two former quærees, muddily jumble together my two last.
1693 J. Dryden Disc. conc. Satire in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires p. xxvi Lucilius; who writ..loosely, and muddily. [After Horace Satires 2. 4. 11 Cum flueret lutulentus.]
1767 C. Smart tr. Horace Satires i. x, in tr. Horace Wks. (new ed.) III. 132 I objected that his song Flow'd..muddily along.
1822 C. Lamb Let. 20 Mar. (1935) II. 319 I express myself muddily.
1877 J. R. Lowell Moosehead Jrnl. 35 He was ready to contribute (somewhat muddily) to the general conversation.
1977 Antiquaries Jrnl. 57 374 The plates are printed muddily, on the same quality of paper as the text.
1990 C. Greenland Take back Plenty (1991) 54 When her head had settled, muddily, Tabitha slowly turned back the duvet.
2. In a muddy manner; in mud, with mud.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > mud > [adverb]
muddily1861
1861 All Year Round 1 June 235 Warning me not to leap over and be either muddily drowned or beaten to death by the vessel's keel.
1935 G. Blake Shipbuilders ix. 249 The rain filled the gutters with miniature torrents and, leaping that which scurried muddily down the line of the northern pavement, she brought one inadequate shoe down in a puddle.
1987 C. Thubron Behind Wall xii. 283 The Yellow River..grumbled muddily behind the city's back under an assortment of bridges.
2000 Star Tribune (Minneapolis) (Nexis) 18 Dec. a12 The Minnesota River, flowing muddily across Minnesota from South Dakota to Fort Snelling.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adv.1648