From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
welter
n 1: a confused multitude of things [syn: clutter, jumble,
muddle, fuddle, mare's nest, welter, smother]
v 1: toss, roll, or rise and fall in an uncontrolled way; "The
shipwrecked survivors weltered in the sea for hours"
2: roll around, "pigs were wallowing in the mud" [syn: wallow,
welter]
3: be immersed in; "welter in work"