muddinessn.
/ˈmʌdɪnᵻs/, U.S. /ˈmədinᵻs/ 1. The state of being confused, unclear, or blurred; an instance of this.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > misjudgement > indiscriminateness > [noun]
indistinction1624
muddiness1645
indiscrimination1649
puddling1695
undiscerning1711
muddying1713
under-niceness1748
confusion1771
mixing1831
confounding1850
colour blindness1861
undiscriminatingness1866
muddling1873
indiscriminateness1879
unfastidiousness1881
indiscriminancy1890
lumping1903
1645 J. Howell Epistolæ Ho-elianæ i. xxvi. 50 If this Letter fail, either in point of Orthography or Stile, you must impute..the second to the muddinesse of my Brain.
1848 U.S. Mag. & Democratic Rev. May 411 The fop who excites a smile from the very daintiness and elegance of his apparel, when it is unfortunately contrasted with his lack of energy and the muddiness of his ideas.
1867 A. Trollope Last Chron. Barset II. lxi. 187 That muddiness of mind of which he had often accused himself.
1915 D. H. Lawrence Let. c7 July (1962) I. 352 I am rid of all my Christian religiosity. It was only a muddiness.
1964 S. Duke-Elder Parsons' Dis. Eye (ed. 14) x. 107 ‘Muddiness of the iris’ is the expression used for indistinctness of the pattern, caused by inflammatory exudates.
1994 Rolling Stone 16 June 92/1 Other manufacturers will tell you to get their speakers away from the wall to avoid muddiness.
2. The state of being muddy or discoloured by mud, or of having a muddy colour.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > [noun] > qualities of liquid > turbidity or muddiness
drublinessc1440
troubledness?1527
troubliness?1527
mudding1632
muddinessa1667
turbidness1676
turbidity1782
turbescency1834
troubling1842
the world > matter > colour > quality of colour > [noun] > impurity or unclearness
muddinessa1667
obscure1787
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirt > dirtiness or soiling with specific kinds of dirt > [noun] > muddiness
muddiness1858
a1667 P. Mundy Trav. (1925) IV. 66 Rivers, Fountaines off good Water very scarce in this part off the Country, by reason off the Marshy lownesse and Muddinesse off the soile.
1685 R. Boyle Short Mem. Hist. Mineral Waters 25 Of the Transparency, the Muddiness, or the Opacity of the Mineral Water.
1727 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. II Glaymousness, Muddiness, Clamminess.
a1806 J. Barry in R. N. Wornum Lect. on Painting (1848) 217 Warm and cold tints..which by their mixture would produce muddiness and opacity.
1858 N. Hawthorne Jrnl. 12 Jan. in French & Ital. Notebks. (1980) i. 34 The horrible muddiness..of all Paris.
1874 A. B. Garrod & E. B. Baxter Essentials Materia Medica (ed. 4) 120 The solution in distilled water is clear, or has only a slight muddiness.
1974 Physics Bull. Aug. 359/1 A submersible monitor for direct measurement of the muddiness or pollution of water (and other fluids) has been announced.
1992 J. Herbert Shrine 252 Seating for as many as possible will be arranged around a central altar, but I'm afraid many will have to stand and endure the muddiness of the field.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1645