muddlementn.
/ˈmʌdlmənt/, U.S. /ˈmədəlm(ə)nt/ Confusion, bewilderment.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > confusion or disorder > [noun]
brabbling1530
confusion1530
ruffle1533
pell-mellc1586
confusedness1587
huddle1606
Babel confusion1653
promiscuity1663
hugger-mugger1674
promiscuousness1676
clutter1692
jumblement1706
muddle1808
embranglement1826
mare's nest1837
muddlement1857
muddledom1891
muddliness1891
mêlée1895
mix-up1898
huddledom1923
buggeration1962
mixed-upness1967
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > perplexity, bewilderment > [noun]
mingingOE
riddleOE
cumbermentc1300
willa1325
encumbrancec1330
were1338
perplexitya1393
discomfiturea1425
cumbrancec1460
confuse1483
proplexity1487
perplexion?c1500
amazedness?1520
amazement1553
subversion1558
amaze?1560
perplexednessa1586
confusedness1587
puzzle1599
confusion1600
mizmaze1604
discomfita1616
embarras1627
obfuscation1628
mystery1629
confoundedness1641
puzzledness1662
confuseness1710
puzzlement1731
puzzledom1748
embarrassment1751
puzzleation1767
bepuzzlement1806
conjecture1815
mystification1817
bewilderment1819
perplexment1826
fuddle1827
wilderment1830
discomforture1832
head-scratching1832
baffle1843
posement1850
muddlement1857
turbidity1868
fogging1878
bemuddlement1884
harl1889
befuddlement1905
turbidness1906
wuzziness1942
perplexability1999
the world > action or operation > difficulty > types of difficulty > [noun] > difficulty or complexity > and confusion
tanglement1831
ravelment1833
muddlement1857
1857 W. Collins Dead Secret II. vi. i. 216 I am lost in my own muddlement.
1910 Blackwood's Mag. Sept. 422/1 Nor does any amount of sincerity compensate for muddlement.
1948 W. de la Mare Chardin 22 A picture, which, without risk of muddlement between the arts, may be said to be quiet, sonorous, shrill, strident or harsh.
a1967 J. R. Ackerley My Father & Myself (1968) xiii. 146 I had suddenly recollected that my birthday was about to fall and foresaw muddlement.
1994 J. Barth Once upon Time 318 Muddlement meets misery, of a sort.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1857