muddy the waters

[ˈmʌdi ðə ˈwɔːtərz]

verb phrase

turvar as águas

1. to make a situation more confusing or unclear by introducing complicated or irrelevant information

The witness's contradictory statements muddy the waters of the investigation.

As declarações contraditórias da testemunha turnam as águas da investigação.

2. to deliberately obscure or complicate a clear issue or argument

Don't muddy the waters with irrelevant details.

Não turve as águas com detalhes irrelevantes.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Regional Variations

General Brazilian

turvar as águas

most common translation

Brazil

embaraçar a situação

alternative, meaning to embarrass or complicate the situation

Portugal

turvar as águas

same as Brazilian Portuguese

Brazil

complicar as coisas

literal alternative meaning 'complicate things'

throw a wrench in the works

rock the boat

stir the pot

throw a monkey wrench

add fuel to the fire

Look up more words on Fala2Me

The free English-Portuguese dictionary with real Brazilian accents, NYC slang, conjugator and more