murky

Sometimes mirk·y

[mur-kee]

adjective

murkier, murkiest 

1. dark, gloomy, and cheerless.

   Antonyms: cheery, bright

2. obscure or thick with mist, haze, etc., as the air.

   Synonyms: opaque, obscure, indefinite, hazy, confusing, hazy, misty, lowering, cloudy
   Antonyms: clear

3. (of liquid) not clear; cloudy with or as if with sediment.

   Antonyms: transparent, pellucid, limpid, clear

4. not clearly expressed; vague; unclear; confused.

   a murky statement.

murky

/ ˈmɜːkɪ /

adjective

1. gloomy or dark

2. cloudy or impenetrable as with smoke or fog

Other Word Forms

• murkily adverb
• murkiness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of murky¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English mirky; murk, -y ¹

Synonym Study

See dark.

Example Sentences

It's not known exactly how they got into her account and the murky world of cybercrime means it is difficult to pinpoint if a single data breach led to someone being scammed.

Read more on BBC

By keeping their shared traumas largely undefined for most of the film, Trier allows the Borg family dynamics to be appropriately murky.

Read more on Salon

Citing murky laws and growing case law, online service HelloPrenup last year added optional clauses to its forms to help couples spell out what happens to embryos in a breakup.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Alexander slid off his wolf and stepped delicately through the murky puddle.

Read more on Literature

Much as a well-trained pony might jump over a murky brook and land, dry hooved, in the sun-dappled meadow beyond, Penelope’s mind now made a sudden leap over the muddle.

Read more on Literature

Related Words

• cloudy 
• dark 
• dim 
• dirty 
• dismal 
• dreary 
• foggy 
• fuzzy 
• misty 
• muddy 
• nebulous 
• stormy