murky
Americanadjective
adjective
-
gloomy or dark
-
cloudy or impenetrable as with smoke or fog
Synonym Usage
See dark.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of murky
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English mirky; see origin at murk, -y 1
Explanation
Something that's murky is dim, gloomy or hard to see through clearly. Think of the dark fog around a haunted house or the cloudy, muddy water in a swamp. Rarely used before the 17th century, this adjective came about by adding a "y" to the word murk. Murk itself evolved from myrkr, a Norse word for "darkness.” Things that are murky are unclear; that goes for murky, sediment-filled lakes, shady business deals, and arguments that don't seem to make any sense.
Vocabulary lists containing murky
The Diary of Anne Frank
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"The Ravine," Vocabulary from the short story
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List 10
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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.
So, by the time the game ended, Sasaki’s three-inning start seemed like a murky nightmare the Dodgers awoke from in a sweat.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 3, 2026
As workers scrambled to pump out murky water and dumped hydrogen peroxide into the pool, Trump took no responsibility for what many observers chalked up to shoddy workmanship.
From Barron's • Jun. 21, 2026
Despite the passage of time, even the basic lore behind Juneteenth is still murky, and feverishly debated.
From Salon • Jun. 19, 2026
He is driving world events with an agreement that hasn’t been formally signed, whose specifics are unknown and whose prospects are at best murky.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 15, 2026
I didn’t know what could ever come of this, of us, or how we’d ever navigate these murky waters and I didn’t know what to do.
From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
