Synonyms

murky

American

[mur-kee] / ˈmɜr ki /

Sometimes mirky

adjective

murkier, murkiest

dark, gloomy, and cheerless.

Antonyms:

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

Synonyms:

opaque, obscure, indefinite, hazy, confusing, hazy, misty, lowering, cloudy

Antonyms:

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

Antonyms:

transparent, pellucid, limpid, clear
not clearly expressed; vague; unclear; confused.

a murky statement.

murky British

/ ˈmɜːkɪ /

adjective

gloomy or dark
cloudy or impenetrable as with smoke or fog

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

The snake was launched into the air and splashed, unconscious, into the murky water.

From Literature

But for the people who don’t have much to put in an HSA, the benefits are a lot murkier.

From MarketWatch

“The thing about smog is that it smelled like a color to me because I live in color, and the way I described it was yellowish, greenish — murky.”

From Los Angeles Times

The situation grew murkier when police said days later they were investigating whether people close to Estrosi were involved in the incident.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023