murky

American  

[mur-kee] / ˈmɜr ki /

Sometimes mirky

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.

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murky British  

/ ˈmɜːkɪ /

adjective

1. gloomy or dark

2. cloudy or impenetrable as with smoke or fog

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Related Words

See dark.

Other Word Forms

• murkily adverb
• murkiness noun

Etymology

Origin of murky

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

Example Sentences

Few people forget their school cross-country days, trudging through murky playing fields on freezing winter afternoons, invariably clad in kit sourced from the lost property bin.

From BBC

The way the yes-or-no questions are worded can make a huge difference, and the way event outcomes are interpreted can be gray and murky.

From MarketWatch

How school districts should navigate the matter in their policies remains murky, according to some experts.

From Los Angeles Times

To make matters murkier, the dog, which police said appeared familiar with the toddler, does not appear to belong to Slaughter.

From Los Angeles Times

The origins of the naan are murky but many food historians believe that the flatbread originated in ancient Persia, since it derives its name from the the Persian word for bread.

From BBC

Related Words

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