muddleheadednessn.
/ˌmʌdlˈhɛdᵻdnᵻs/, U.S. /ˌmədəlˈhɛdədnəs/ The state or fact of being muddle-headed; mental confusion or foolishness.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > weakness of intellect > confusion, muddle-headedness > [noun]
fogginess1648
unconnectedness1772
puzzle-patedness1799
botherheadedness1814
muzziness1814
addlement1825
addle-headedness1835
muddleheadedness1839
woolliness1856
puzzleheadedness1858
harl1889
wooziness1924
1839 Charter 25 Aug. 489 More pitiful muddleheadedness, or merriment—we know not which to think it, was never seen in a newspaper.
1862 Sat. Rev. 6 Sept. 274 That sort of utter muddle-headedness which disqualifies a man for reasoning equally with pure ignorance.
1884 W. W. Skeat in Notes & Queries 12 Jan. 32/2 Such is the muddle-headedness of modern English spelling.
1936 L. Woolf Let. 15 Nov. (1990) 410 The same muddleheadedness and confusion are splitting the party over rearmament.
1972 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 30 Jan. 38/3 I charge them both with muddle-headedness for their own views on this subject.
1990 O. Chadwick Michael Ramsey i. i. 27 Bethune-Baker was learned and clear-headed in his writing,..angered by muddleheadedness in his colleagues.
2002 Daily Mail (Nexis) 19 Mar. 15 In fact it is a piece of typical Foreign Office muddleheadedness.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1839