
muck | muck: n. 1 ordure, manure, dung, excrement, faeces, droppings; guano: The muck is saved for use as fertilizer. 2 dirt, filth, bilge, slime, sludge, ooze, scum, sewage, mire, mud, feculence, Colloq gunge, gunk, US grunge: Give me a chance to get the muck off my shoes. --v. 3 muck about. fool around, waste time, idle, loiter, mess around or about: She told me to stop mucking about and get a job. 4 muck up. ruin, wreck, destroy, make a mess of, botch, mess up, bungle, Colloq screw up, Slang bugger up, make a muck of: She''s mucked up her own life, and, given the chance, she''ll muck up mine.
mud | mud: n. muck, ooze, slime, mire, clay, sludge, silt, dirt, US and Canadian gumbo or gombo: The mud came up to my ankles.
muddle | muddle: v. 1 bewilder, confuse, confound, mystify, baffle, mix up, disorient, befuddle, perplex, bemuse, puzzle, befog: I am totally muddled by your explanation of differential calculus. 2 confuse, mix up, jumble, scramble, entangle, tangle, mess up, disorder, disarrange, disorganize, bungle, mismanage, Colloq muff: My financial affairs got hopelessly muddled when I changed banks. 3 muddle through. (barely) manage, cope, make it, scrape through or along, contrive, make do, get by, get along: We were just muddling through when James was offered this wonderful job. --n. 4 mess, confusion, mix-up, jumble, tangle, disorder, hotchpotch or US also hodgepodge, mishmash, chaos, disaster, Colloq stew, Slang US screw-up, snafu, Taboo slang Brit balls-up: A lot of muddles, mix-ups, and misunderstandings ensued.
muddy | muddy: adj. 1 fouled, befouled, muddied, mud-spattered, dirty, grubby, grimy, soiled, mud-caked, slimy, mucky, miry; oozy, squelchy, squashy, boggy, fenny, marshy, swampy; Formal feculent; Colloq squishy, squushy: Take off those muddy boots before you come into the house. The walk up to the house has become all muddy in the rain. 2 confused, unclear, vague, obscure, dull, dim, fuzzy, muddled, addled, mixed-up: Greg has only a muddy idea of what you''re talking about. 3 drab, subdued, blurred, dingy, flat, murky, mat, washed out: The colours in her paintings look very muddy to me. --v. 4 obscure, dull, dim, confuse, mix up, befog, cloud: His explanation muddied the issue rather than clarifying it. 5 dirty, soil, begrime, smirch, besmirch, spatter, bespatter: A passing car muddied my new skirt.
muffle | muffle: v. 1 Often, muffle up. wrap, swathe, swaddle, cloak, envelop, cover (up), enfold, shroud, enshroud, conceal, protect: Make sure your neck is muffled when you''re out in that icy wind. 2 deaden, silence, suppress, stifle, subdue, damp, dampen, mute, hush, quiet, tone down, still: A few more thicknesses of flannel will muffle the noise of the motor.
muffler | muffler: n. scarf, boa; shawl, wrap: Wrap this muffler round your neck for added warmth.
mug | mug: n. 1 jug, tankard, stein, toby (jug), pot, beaker, cup: The relief workers passed round mugs of hot coffee to the homeless. 2 face, visage, features, countenance, Slang puss, kisser, mush, Brit clock, dial, Archaic phiz or phizog, US pan: The ex-boxer has a mug that only a mother could love. 3 fool, duffer, simpleton, dupe, gull, innocent, Colloq chump, mark, soft or easy touch, Brit muggins, Slang sucker: The mug thought he had found a full wallet. --v. 4 make a face or faces, grimace: Here are some pictures of the twins mugging for the camera. 5 attack, set upon, rob, assault; garrotte, throttle: Anyone who walks through the park at night risks getting mugged. 6 mug up (on). study, Formal lucubrate, Colloq cram, burn the midnight oil, get up (on), Brit swot, bone up (on): I have to mug up on my Latin for tomorrow''s examination.
muggy | muggy: adj. humid, damp, sticky, sultry, oppressive, clammy, steamy, close, stuffy, moist, soggy: It was so muggy that every night the bedlinen was completely soaked.
mull | mull: v. Usually, mull over. ponder, consider, study, think (over or about), cogitate (on or over or about), con, evaluate, turn over, weigh, deliberate (on or over), reflect (on), muse (on), review, examine, contemplate, meditate (on), chew over, ruminate (on or over),: I have been mulling over your suggestion that I should join the navy.
mum | mum: adj. 1 silent, mute, close-mouthed, quiet, tight-lipped: She swore she would keep mum about where the money was hidden. --n. 2 Mum''s the word. Don''t tell a soul, Keep silent, Keep secret, Keep quiet, Keep (something) to oneself, Keep (something) under one''s hat, Say nothing, Tell no-one, Play dumb: He told who stole the bell, but mum''s the word.
mumble | mumble: v. murmur, mutter, say inarticulately, utter indistinctly, swallow one''s words: He mumbled the name of the person who had shot him, but she didn''t catch it.
mumbo-jumbo | mumbo-jumbo: n. 1 gibberish, nonsense, rubbish, gobbledegook or gobbledygook, drivel, humbug, bunkum, double-talk, rigmarole or rigamarole, jabberwocky, blather or blether, poppycock, Colloq eyewash, rot, tommy-rot, hogwash, bilge, bosh, bull, malarkey, claptrap, piffle, US hooey, moonshine, bunk Slang bull, crap, Brit tosh, Taboo slang bullshit: Before he would give me the cheque, the lawyer made me sign something full of legal mumbo-jumbo. 2 spell, incantation, chant, formula, charm, abracadabra, hocus-pocus, rite, ritual, conjuration, magic: She had to sit through all the mumbo-jumbo of her husband''s investiture.
munch | munch: v. chew, crunch, masticate, champ, chomp, scrunch: He just sat there munching peanuts.
municipal | municipal: adj. civic, civil, metropolitan, urban, city, town, village, borough, parish, Brit council: Voting takes place in the municipal elections next week.
municipality | municipality: n. city, metropolis, town, village, borough, district, township; suburb, exurb: The recreational facilities offered by the municipality are in need of refurbishing.
murder | murder: n. 1 homicide, manslaughter, regicide, patricide, matricide, parricide, fratricide, sororicide, uxoricide, infanticide; killing, slaying, assassination: In many countries, murder is a crime punishable by death. 2 slaughter, butchery, genocide, massacre, liquidation, decimation, extermination, eradication, wiping out, murdering, slaying, killing, bloodshed, carnage: Their wanton murder of thousands of prisoners of war has been proven. --v. 3 kill, slay, assassinate, put to death, end the life of, put away or down, put out of one''s misery, wipe out, destroy, butcher, massacre, liquidate, exterminate, eradicate, annihilate, extinguish, slaughter, lay low, Slang eliminate, bump off, knock off, do in, polish off, blow away, US rub out, waste, ice, take for a ride, fit with a concrete overcoat or with concrete overshoes, snuff (out): The drug dealers were murdered, one by one, by a rival gang. 4 spoil, ruin, mar, destroy, wreck, kill, mangle, butcher, mutilate: She murdered the song by singing it far too fast.
murderer | murderer: n. murderess, killer, slayer, assassin, homicide, cutthroat, liquidator, executioner, butcher, Slang hit man: The police have arrested someone they are certain is the murderer.
murderous | murderous: adj. 1 fatal, lethal, deadly, deathly, mortal, destructive, devastating, sanguinary, bloody, brutal, savage, bloodthirsty, barbarous, fell, cruel, inhuman: The tolling of the bell signalled that the murderous deed had been done. 2 killing, strenuous, stressful, difficult, arduous, exhausting, hellish, harrowing, rigorous, intolerable, unbearable: You cannot keep up such a murderous pace, without any rest, and remain healthy.
murky | murky: adj. dark, gloomy, threatening, dim, clouded, cloudy, overcast, grey, dismal, dreary, bleak, sombre, grim, funereal, shady, shadowy: I could barely make out her face in the murky corner of the chapel.
murmur | murmur: n. 1 undercurrent, undertone, background noise or sound, rumble, rumbling, mumble, mumbling, drone, droning, buzz, buzzing, murmuration, murmuring, hum, humming, whispering, Formal susurration or susurrus: They spoke in low voices, barely audible above the murmur of the mourning doves. 2 muttering, complaining, complaint, grumble, grumbling, Colloq grousing, grouse: We have heard not any murmurs since everyone had an increase in salary. --v. 3 mumble, mutter, whisper: He murmured into her ear something about being pleased to see her. 4 complain, grumble, mutter, moan, lament, wail, Colloq grouse: Employees will always find something to murmur about.
muscular | muscular: adj. sinewy, brawny, burly, powerful, powerfully built, strapping, rugged, husky, robust, athletic, sturdy, well-muscled, broad-shouldered: We all envied Nick''s muscular physique.
muse | muse: v. cogitate, meditate, reflect, contemplate, ruminate, think over, think about, consider, chew over, deliberate, revolve, weigh, evaluate, study, mull over, brood (over), ponder; be absorbed (in thought), be in a brown study, dream, day-dream, be in a trance or reverie: Asked for a decision, Michael mused for a while before answering.
mushy | mushy: adj. 1 soft, pulpy, squashy, doughy, squidgy, spongy; swampy, boggy, miry; Colloq squishy, squushy, squashy: The peach was overripe and mushy. The bottom of the pond is all mushy and feels awful when you stand up. 2 mawkish, maudlin, sentimental, romantic, saccharine, sugary, syrupy, Colloq corny, sloppy, gooey, slushy, Brit wet, Slang schmaltzy: She cried three handkerchiefs-full over the mushy parts of Gone With The Wind .
musical | musical: adj. tuneful, melodic, harmonious, lilting, lyrical, melodious, mellifluous, dulcet, euphonious: Many modern compositions, while technically competent, are not as musical as the old-fashioned pieces.
must | must: v. 1 ought (to), should, have to, be obliged or obligated to, be compelled or forced to, be required to: I must get this work done before lunch-time. Must you go? Yes, I must. --n. 2 necessity, requisite, requirement, obligation, sine qua non, essential: Patience is an absolute must in this job.
muster | muster: v. 1 call or come together, assemble, convoke, convene, collect, mobilize, rally, round up, gather, marshal, summon (up): Within a month he had mustered a force of thousands to fight the invaders. I mustered up enough courage to ask Joan out to dinner. --n. 2 rally, assembly, assemblage, convocation, meet, meeting, convention, congress, round-up, turnout, gathering, congregation, aggregation, aggregate: We attended the annual muster of bagpipe marching bands. 3 pass muster. come up to scratch, make the grade, measure up, be acceptable, Colloq come or be up to snuff: Are you sure that your new design will pass muster with the art director?
musty | musty: adj. 1 mouldy, damp, mildewed, mildewy, sour, rancid, spoilt, decayed, rotten, putrid, fetid or foetid, fusty, stale: Open the windows to get rid of that musty odour. 2 stale, old-fashioned, antiquated, antediluvian, ancient, out of date, bygone, pass�, old hat, obsolete, archaic, tired, hoary, worn out, trite, clich�d, stereotypical: I''ve heard all those musty jokes of his a thousand times before.
mutation | mutation: n. 1 change, changing, alteration, altering, modification, modifying, transformation, transforming, metamorphosis, metamorphosing, transmutation, transmuting, transfiguration, transfiguring, evolution, evolving, variation, varying: For years he studied the mutation of the sweet pea. 2 variant, variation, deviation, deviant, mutant, anomaly, departure: The mutations exhibited marked differences over the generations.
mute | mute: adj. 1 silent, dumb, speechless, voiceless, wordless, tight-lipped, taciturn, tacit, reserved, quiet, Colloq mum: Though I persisted in asking his name, he remained mute. 2 unspoken, unsaid, tacit, silent: The stain on the floor was a mute reminder of the crime. --v. 3 deaden, silence, muffle, stifle, dampen, damp, subdue, suppress, quiet or Brit also quieten, hush, soft-pedal, turn down, tone down: The carpet muted her footsteps as she crept up behind him.
mutilate | mutilate: v. 1 maim, disfigure, mangle, cripple, lame, butcher, disable; dismember, amputate, hack off, cut off, lop off, tear off, rip off: Formerly, the hands of thieves were mutilated as an example to others. 2 spoil, mar, ruin, damage, deface, vandalize, destroy: As the book had been mutilated, he had to buy the library a replacement.
mutinous | mutinous: adj. 1 rebellious, revolutionary, subversive, seditious, insurgent, insurrectionary: The mutinous crew was finally subdued and clapped in irons. 2 recalcitrant, refractory, contumacious, obstinate, defiant, insubordinate, disobedient, unruly, unmanageable, ungovernable, uncontrollable: Whenever we told Clare to work harder at school she became mutinous.
mutiny | mutiny: n. 1 revolt, rebellion, revolution, subversion, subversiveness, insurgency, insurgence, insurrection, uprising: The crew are threatening a mutiny. --v. 2 rebel, rise up (against), strike, revolt; disobey, subvert, agitate (against): The crew of the Bounty mutinied and set Captain Bligh adrift.
mutter | mutter: v. 1 mumble, murmur, grunt: He was muttering something to himself that I didn''t catch. 2 grumble, complain, Colloq grouch, grouse, Brit chunter: She has been muttering about cuts in the postal service ever since I can remember.
mutual | mutual: adj. 1 reciprocal, reciprocated, requited, interactive, complementary: I love her and I hope that the feeling is mutual. 2 common, communal, joint, shared: Gerald is our mutual friend.
