murky

American  

[mur-kee] / ˈmɜr ki /

Sometimes mirky

adjective

• murkier,
  comparative
• murkiest
  superlative

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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Synonym Usage

See dark.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• murkiness
  noun
• murkily
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Adjectives

• murkier
  comparative
• murkiest
  superlative

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Etymology

Origin of murky

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

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

murky murkier murkiest

So, it’s all very murky and uncertain … but long story short: It is possible that plague is at play.

From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026

The path forward is still murky, but the potential they hold is clear: They just might reshape the stock market.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

For now, the path forward looks as murky as ever.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

But some Chinese nationals have reported facing murky travel restrictions for years.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

I stare at the murky haze sinking to the planet’s surface in the distance, my stomach twisting with dread.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

Ekerdt estimates most homes hold tens of thousands of things, each with its own meaning, and once you add a spouse’s things into the mix, sovereignty over what stays and what goes gets even murkier.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

But lawmakers and intelligence experts warn that the legal picture is murkier in practice, especially if telecommunications and technology companies decide they no longer have sufficient legal protection to comply with government demands.

From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026

Things get murkier from there, especially when it comes to oil demand.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026

“The truth is murkier and that feels current.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026

In addition, the moonless sky was made even murkier by the swirling, smoky haze.

From "The Great Fire" by Jim Murphy

But it’s a joke with depth, pointing to who Vahid really is, and who he isn’t, at just the time when that seems murkiest.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2025

Despite legislation coming into effect almost a decade ago, the issue of 'anchoring' continues to be one of the murkiest in the game.

From BBC ● May 27, 2025

The first, “From Dystopia to Our Declaration” by Nijawwon Matthews, is the murkiest.

From New York Times ● Feb. 7, 2024

HKU1 has the murkiest evolutionary history, but its genetic sequence clusters close to the murine hepatitis virus, suggesting it has a rodent origin.

From Science Magazine ● Jan. 11, 2024

I had seen the number on the radio in Greg’s memory only a few hours earlier, burning brightly through even the murkiest clouds of his thoughts.

From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken

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Related Words

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

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