---
title: muddled — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «muddled» in the school dictionary: Muddled means confused and not thinking clearly. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/muddled/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/) / [M](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/) / muddled

# muddled

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** It, Grandpa, He, I, We, Cat · **What happens:** muddle, mean, not think, mix up, be, confuse · **To what, where:** wrong order, past form, things, I, papers, floor · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«muddled» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 8 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [muddled in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/muddled.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Muddled means confused and not thinking clearly.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:muddled:m1:1
# text = Muddled means confused and not thinking clearly.
1	Muddled	muddle	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	nsubj	_	_
2	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	confused	confused	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	xcomp	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
5	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	6	advmod	_	_
6	thinking	think	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	3	conj	_	_
7	clearly	clearly	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **muddle** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn amalgamate-22.2-2 «NP V ADVP-Middle»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  | confused *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **not** **think** *speech: other* | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | clearly *property* | vn focus-87.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Muddled means mixed up and untidy, in the wrong order.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:muddled:m2:1
# text = Muddled means mixed up and untidy, in the wrong order.
1	Muddled	muddle	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	nsubj	_	_
2	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	mixed	mix	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	ccomp	_	_
4	up	up	ADP	RP	_	3	compound:prt	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	untidy	untidy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	wrong	wrong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	order	order	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **muddle** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn amalgamate-22.2-2 «NP V ADVP-Middle»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **mix up** | participle |  |  |  | the wrong order |  |  | vn mix-22.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Patient |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is the past form of the verb «muddle»: to mix things up or confuse them.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:muddled:m3:1
# text = It is the past form of the verb «muddle»: to mix things up or confuse them.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	past	past	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	form	form	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	verb	verb	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
9	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	muddle	muddle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	14	punct	_	_
13	to	to	PART	TO	_	14	mark	_	_
14	mix	mix	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	parataxis	_	_
15	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	obj	_	_
16	up	up	ADP	RP	_	14	compound:prt	_	_
17	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
18	confuse	confuse	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	14	conj	_	_
19	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	18	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | It | the past form |  |  |  | of the verb | tree rules |
| 2 | **mix up** | to-infinitive |  | things |  |  |  |  | vn mix-22.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent thing=Patient |
| 3 | **confuse** | infinitive |  | things *= thing* |  |  |  |  | vn amalgamate-22.2-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent they=Patient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I got muddled and added instead of taking away.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:muddled:x1:1
# text = I got muddled and added instead of taking away.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	got	get	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	muddled	muddle	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	added	add	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	conj	_	_
6	instead	instead	ADV	RB	ExtPos=SCONJ	8	mark	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	fixed	_	_
8	taking	take	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	5	advcl	_	_
9	away	away	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **muddle** | past · passive |  | I |  |  |  |  | vn amalgamate-22.2-2 «NP V NP»: subject=Patient |
| 2 | **add** *speech: assert* | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn mix-22.1-2 «NP V ADVP-Middle»: agent=Patient |
| 3 | **take away** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | away *property* | vn remove-10.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The papers were all muddled up on the floor.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:muddled:x2:1
# text = The papers were all muddled up on the floor.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	papers	paper	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
4	all	all	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	muddled	muddle	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	up	up	ADP	RP	_	5	compound:prt	_	_
7	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	floor	floor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **muddle up** | past · passive |  | the papers |  | the floor |  | all *property* | vn amalgamate-22.2-2 «NP V NP»: subject=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Grandpa gets a bit muddled about names.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:muddled:x3:1
# text = Grandpa gets a bit muddled about names.
1	Grandpa	grandpa	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	gets	get	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	bit	bit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	muddled	muddle	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	acl	_	_
6	about	about	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	names	name	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **get** | present | Grandpa | a bit |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer bit=Stimulus |
| 2 | **muddle** | participle |  | a bit *not said here* |  |  |  | about names | vn amalgamate-22.2-2 «NP V ADVP-Middle»: agent=Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Her story was muddled and hard to follow.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:muddled:x4:1
# text = Her story was muddled and hard to follow.
1	Her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	muddled	muddle	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	conj	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
8	follow	follow	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **muddle** | past · passive |  | Her story |  |  |  |  | vn amalgamate-22.2-2 «NP V NP»: subject=Patient |
| 2 | **follow** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He muddled the twins up again.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:muddled:x5:1
# text = He muddled the twins up again.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	muddled	muddle	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	twins	twin	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	up	up	ADP	RP	_	2	compound:prt	_	_
6	again	again	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **muddle up** | past | He | the twins |  |  | again |  | vn amalgamate-22.2-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent twin=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
After the long trip I felt tired and muddled.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:muddled:x6:1
# text = After the long trip I felt tired and muddled.
1	After	after	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	trip	trip	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
5	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	felt	feel	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	tired	tired	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	xcomp	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	muddled	muddle	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **feel** | past | I |  |  |  | after the long trip | tired *property* | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V ADJ»: agent=Stimulus |
| 2 | **muddle** | participle | I *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn amalgamate-22.2-2 «NP V ADVP-Middle»: agent=Patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We muddled through the quiz without our best player.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:muddled:x7:1
# text = We muddled through the quiz without our best player.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	muddled	muddle	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	through	through	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	quiz	quiz	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
6	without	without	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
8	best	good	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	9	amod	_	_
9	player	player	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **muddle** | past | We |  |  | the quiz |  | without our best player | vn amalgamate-22.2-2 «NP V ADVP-Middle»: agent=Patient |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
And the Cat sat down to the loom, and worked away; muddled everything about, if it didn't do much weaving.

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:muddled:x8:1
# text = And the Cat sat down to the loom, and worked away; muddled everything about, if it didn't do much weaving.
1	And	and	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	Cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	sat	sit	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	down	down	ADP	RP	_	4	compound:prt	_	_
6	to	to	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	loom	loom	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	worked	work	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
12	away	away	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	14	punct	_	_
14	muddled	muddle	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	11	conj	_	_
15	everything	everything	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Tot	14	obj	_	_
16	about	about	ADV	RB	_	14	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	22	punct	_	_
18	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	22	mark	_	_
19	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	22	nsubj	_	_
20	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	22	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	22	advmod	_	_
22	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	14	conj	_	_
23	much	much	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	24	amod	_	_
24	weaving	weaving	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sit down** | past | the Cat |  |  |  |  | to the loom | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **work away** | past | the Cat *not said here* |  |  |  |  | away *property* | vn employment-95.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **muddle** | participle | the Cat *not said here* | everything |  |  |  | about *property* | vn amalgamate-22.2-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent everything=Patient |
| 4 | **not** **do** *a condition, not said to happen* | past · do-support | Cat | much weaving |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent weaving=Eventuality |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [muddle](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/muddle/)
- next →: [muddy](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/muddy/)
- ↑ back to [M in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/)