distribute vs muddle

distribute

verb
  • To scatter or spread. 

  • To have employees working remotely from multiple locations. 

  • To supply to retail outlets. 

  • To separate (type which has been used) and return it to the proper boxes in the cases. 

  • To employ (a term) in its whole extent; to take as universal in one premise. 

  • To deliver or pass out. 

  • To divide into portions and dispense. 

  • To classify or separate into categories. 

  • To be distributive. 

  • To apportion (more or less evenly). 

  • To spread (ink) evenly, as upon a roller or a table. 

muddle

verb
  • To cloud or stupefy; to render stupid with liquor; to intoxicate partially. 

  • To dabble in mud. 

  • To mash slightly for use in a cocktail. 

  • To think and act in a confused, aimless way. 

  • To mix together, to mix up; to confuse. 

  • To make turbid or muddy. 

  • To waste or misuse, as one does who is stupid or intoxicated. 

noun
  • A mixture of crushed ingredients, as prepared with a muddler. 

  • A mixture; a confusion; a garble. 

How often have the words distribute and muddle occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )