muddy water
Silted, clouded stream
Muddy water is water clouded with dirt or sediment, opaque rather than clear.
The phrase extends to situations lacking clarity or transparency: The new regulations only muddy the waters further.
To muddy the waters is to make something more confusing, often deliberately, by introducing complications or distractions.
- murkyDark and unclear
- turbidClouded by particles
- siltyContaining fine earth deposits
- cloudyObscured by atmosphere
- brownDark earth tone
swamp · river · flood · puddle · sediment · river bottom · opaque · dirty · muck · bog · creek · stirred · churned · delta · runoff · storm drain · brackish · unclear
- floodwateroverflow, deluge, inundation, flash flood, river flood
- liquidsmilk, oil, blood, juice, wine
- Missouri RiverMissouri River, Bismarck, Pierre, Omaha, Kansas City
- runoffstormwater, urban runoff, rainwater, meltwater, snowmelt
- undrinkableraw sewage, industrial waste, chemical runoff, bleach, gasoline
- mixturesmix, mixture, blend, blending, amalgam
muddy waterclear water
Uncontaminated, transparent liquid
clean water · pure water · sparkling water · fresh water · purified water
muddy waterpure water
Uncontaminated H₂O
clean water · purified water · distilled water · spring water · drinking water
muddy watercrystal clear
Entirely unambiguous, perfectly understood
clear as day · transparent · straightforward · unambiguous · lucid
mud, water, muddy, muddied, muddying, muddiness, mudded, mudding, muds