murky

adjective

ˈmər-kē How to pronounce murky (audio)
murkier; murkiest
Synonyms of murky
1
: characterized by a heavy dimness or obscurity caused by or like that caused by overhanging fog or smoke
the murky bottom of the lake
2
: characterized by thickness and heaviness of air : foggy, misty
Handicapped by my seasickness and by the murky skies, I hardly ever could make my star sights work.—Robert Shenk
3
: darkly vague or obscure
murky official rhetoric
He offered a murky explanation.
murkily
ˈmər-kə-lē How to pronounce murky (audio)
adverb
murkiness
ˈmər-kē-nəs How to pronounce murky (audio)
noun

Synonyms of murky

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of murky in a Sentence

She peered into one of the church's murky chapels. a politician with a murky past
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
So why are all of them rendered in variations of murky brown? — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 26 June 2026 Even though three public agencies conducted air monitoring, the picture is still murky. — Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026 Hicks shouldn’t be completely eliminated from the conversation, but his path to significant snaps is murky entering camp. — Kansas City Star, 1 July 2026 The details remain murky, but the investment fund would be financed privately and not by US taxpayers, according to the administration. — David Goldman, CNN Money, 26 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for murky

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of murky was in the 14th century

Phrases Containing murky

Rhymes for murky

See All Rhymes for murky

Browse Nearby Words

murksome
murky
murky bass
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Murky.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/murky. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

murky

adjective
ˈmər-kē How to pronounce murky (audio)
murkier; murkiest
1
: very dark or gloomy
2
: foggy sense 1, misty
3
: difficult to understand
a murky reply designed to confuse
murkiness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on murky

Nglish: Translation of murky for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gambol

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All