Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for "murk"
  • a variation of merk.
Synonyms

murk

1 American  
[murk] / mɜrk /
Or mirk

noun

  1. darkness; gloom.

    the murk of a foggy night.


adjective

  1. Archaic. dark; murky.

murk 2 American  
[murk] / mɜrk /

verb (used with object)

  1. Slang. a variant of merk.


murk 1 British  
/ mɜːk /

noun

  1. gloomy darkness

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. an archaic variant of murky

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
murk 2 British  
/ mɜːk /

verb

  1. to murder (a person)

  2. to defeat (a team) convincingly

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of murk1

First recorded before 900; Middle English mirke, myrke, from Old Norse myrkr “dark, darkness,” replacing Old English myrce “dark”

Origin of murk2

First recorded in 2005–10

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

In that respect, like many other merger battles, this one has been producing more murk than light.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

Through the murk, China’s interest in the war is important and complicated.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 30, 2025

The murk and mizzle kept the players off for almost three hours, though the break did little to stall England's momentum.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2024

Maybe it’s better to refrain from pondering the road ahead, which looks dark enough with or without Stewart and other late-night hosts shepherding us through the murk.

From Salon ● Feb. 4, 2024

White relied upon Agent Burger to guide him through the murk of the previous federal investigation.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 14,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training