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

“Isom Dart Was” presents a murky, joyous take on dub music.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026

The authorities were yet to comment on the incident or give a toll several hours after the incident, about which much remains murky.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

The drier weather is likely to last into the weekend and while the mornings could start a little cloudy and murky, there should still be a lot of sunshine developing.

From BBC • Mar. 16, 2026

In a somewhat murky turn of events, OpenAI quickly then announced that it had struck a new relationship with the U.S. government to deploy the company’s models for classified uses.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 1, 2026

He went down again, staying in the murky, churning depths until he was sure the boat had continued on its way.

From "The Boy Who Met a Whale" by Nizrana Farook

Related Words

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