What's the difference between meddling and muddling?
Meddling
Definition:
(p. pr. & vb. n.) of Meddle
(a.) Meddlesome.
Example Sentences:
(1) Conservative commentators responded with fury to what they believed was inappropriate meddling at a crucial moment in the town hall debate.
(2) Real Labour would not just meddle with a cosmetic charge on rich London mansions .
(3) May delivered an unexpected broadside against the EU on Wednesday afternoon, claiming the European commission and unnamed officials had been trying through various means to meddle in the UK election campaign.
(4) China says its territorial claims have a historical basis and objects to what it considers US meddling.
(5) Obama warned Moscow before the election to stop meddling, but reports have since emerged that he decided against retaliating after the CIA warned him Putin was behind it.
(6) These stories play on half-truths, like the presence of far-right nationalists at Maidan, and reasonable doubt, like skepticism of western meddling.
(7) The Guardian view on human rights in China: Liu Xiaobo is dying, free him | Editorial Read more Having been diagnosed with terminal cancer in May, the Nobel peace laureate is at the centre of a geopolitical tug-of-war with western governments urging China to show “humanity” by letting him travel overseas for treatment and Beijing accusing the world of meddling in its “domestic affairs”.
(8) | Luke Harding Read more 18 December Appearing on CBS’s Face the Nation , Conway says no one involved with the campaign had any contact with Russians who sought to meddle in the US election.
(9) Brennan's testimony theoretically represents a rare chance to learn more about drone killing, warrantless wiretapping, torture, rendition, foreign meddling and other odd cloak-and-daggery.
(10) SEVERAL PRACTICAL POINTS IN PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT ARE DISCUSSED: not to tie staff to the institution, not to meddle with their outside affairs or to become too socially intimate, to be sensitive to unexpressed reactions of the staff, to avoid secrets.
(11) If Phil Jackson’s presence means that meddling, incompetent owner James Dolan will be much less involved in the decision making process, that alone would be a step in the right direction no matter how Jackson fairs in his new role.
(12) The fortress-like villages perched on rocky mountaintops we saw when we visited the north of the country are reminders that Yemen has constantly been invaded, or otherwise meddled with, by outsiders, from the Turks onwards.
(13) The city hall staged a massive protest gathering at the time , led by Ian Paisley and James Molyneaux, which was designed to highlight unionist disgust at the British and Irish governments' meddling in Northern Irish affairs.
(14) Stokes sent a downward header towards the far corner from seven yards but the pesky keeper again meddled, diving full length to push it to safety.
(15) Rejecting his overnight demand that the promised political transition and reforms begin without delay, the Egyptian foreign ministry said bluntly that meddling by "foreign parties" was unacceptable and was "aimed to incite the internal situation".
(16) Swire emphasised that the foreign affairs committee was independent from the government, and that the proposed visit did not therefore amount to the UK government meddling in China’s internal affairs.
(17) Notwithstanding the abundance of evidence that Russia hacked our political institutions during the presidential campaign and dumped documents in an effort to meddle in our political affairs, President-elect Trump’s comments this morning continue to contradict our intelligence professionals and carry water for the Kremlin,” Schiff said on Wednesday.
(18) Welby's intervention suggests he will not be discouraged from speaking out despite criticism of his predecessor, Rowan Williams, who was accused of meddling in politics .
(19) From meddling schools and churches to helpful librarians and permissive parents, the stories of our readers reflect a broad spectrum of experiences.
(20) Hofer himself described Farage’s comments as a “crass misjudgment”, adding that “it doesn’t fill me with joy when someone meddles from outside”.
Muddling
Definition:
(p. pr. & vb. n.) of Muddle
Example Sentences:
(1) Of course, every divorce is costly; but muddling through would be even more costly.
(2) The failure to make the single currency work with a wider group of countries means that the attempt to muddle through has reached the end of its natural life.
(3) Instead, we're likely to be stuck with more muddling-through.
(4) "In this era where we see growing open-mindedness, his actions are muddle-headed and careless," said the letter, which was briefly posted to the internet before it was taken down by censors .
(5) Although it remains unclear why he chose to place the muddled woman in a kitchen – clinging to her mug and surrounded by children's toys – as opposed to say, in a laboratory or a truck, he claims all the words were authentically spoken by "women in dozens of focus groups around the country", prior to being stitched together in this latest triumph for the fashionable, verbatim school of drama.
(6) McCluskey, with Unite probably Labour’s single largest donor, has claimed Labour lost the election not because it was too leftwing but largely because it had a muddled message on austerity and lacked a coherent narrative linking together individually popular policies.
(7) A toxic mix of cuts and muddled thinking about personalisation has led some to suggest that social work is an optional extra in adult social care.
(8) Hungry delphiniums, water-loving astilbe and drought-tolerant lupins would all be muddled together, with the thirstiest plants dictating the watering regime.
(9) United were sterile in possession, the ball was given away with monotonous regularity in dangerous positions and their muddled thinking was encapsulated by the sight of Phil Jones taking a couple of corners and Neil Swarbrick, the referee, penalising Antonio Valencia for a foul throw.
(10) Having read her book and met her, however, I wouldn't be surprised if the debate becomes muddled with how she presents her case – because she annoyed me so much when we met, we almost ended up having a row, despite the fact that I agree with a great deal of what she says.
(11) Drinks at Jade Bar are in keeping with the spa setting: fruity and herbaceous “muddles” (alcoholic or not) are a speciality, and the bartenders host mixology sessions on Sundays, or by appointment.
(12) At the time they were stressful – battling with traffic, fights over radio stations, squabbles over who was going to sit in the front seat and listening to a muddle of languages together with drama lines and songs to be sung.
(13) Sara Parkin London • It is very apposite of Zoe Williams ( Opinion , 25 February) to quote Roberto Unger with regard to the supposed “unmasking” of the Green party leader as some kind of political fraud; namely, she tried to answer a question directly and got into a bit of a muddle.
(14) Sean Spicer muddles answer when pressed on Trump and Russia investigation Read more Page, like Trump, has challenged US policy towards Russia and called for warmer relations between the two countries.
(15) Like Rona Jaffe's novel of the 50s, The Best of Everything – a book that Rakoff loves and reread before she started work on My Salinger Year – it is concerned with what it feels like to move to the big city, to take on your first job, and to struggle to survive on a tiny salary when all the while your dreams are seemingly being snuffed out at every turn, and your love life is spiralling into muddle and mayhem.
(16) Wallace is a hopeless deadpan dropout, a loser in love and a bumbling muddle.
(17) This is a very badly timed speech, showing some very muddled and dangerous thinking.
(18) The substitutions were muddle-headed, the team too negative, he might have won the World Cup but now he had lost it.
(19) The reality for many disabled people is it’s a muddle and a minefield to have an easy pee.
(20) 'A tremendous wrench': Sir Ivan Rogers's resignation email in full Read more He wrote: “I hope you will continue to challenge ill-founded arguments and muddled thinking and that you will never be afraid to speak the truth to those in power.