murky

[ mur-kee ]

adjective

, murk·i·er, murk·i·est.

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, 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

Derived Forms

• ˈmurkiness, noun
• ˈmurkily, adverb

Other Words From

• murki·ly adverb
• murki·ness 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

However, if one views memes as a piece of media with disproportionately high influence on young minds, then the legality of Stake’s watermark campaign is much more murky.

From Slate

Herders scooping murky water from a small pond in grasslands in South Sudan are well aware of the dangers they face if they drink it.

From BBC

In any case, nothing about the party’s exhausting, alarmist messaging or its murky self-image is going to change dramatically in the last week before a do-or-die national election.

From Salon

Details about the crash and its mission are murky.

From BBC

Let’s face it, if a murky assassination attempt using a chemical weapon, followed by a tragic demise in prison, can’t move a book, it is hard to imagine what would.

From BBC

Related Words

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