murky

adjective

ˈmər-kē 

murkier; murkiest

1

: characterized by a heavy dimness or obscurity caused by or like that caused by overhanging fog or smoke

the murky bottom of the lake

2

: characterized by thickness and heaviness of air : foggy, misty

rain poured down from murky skies

—Newsweek

3

: darkly vague or obscure

murky official rhetoric

He offered a murky explanation.

murkily

ˈmər-kə-lē 

adverb

murkiness

ˈmər-kē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• black
• caliginous
• dark
• darkened
• darkish
• darkling
• darksome
• dim
• dimmed
• dusk
• dusky
• gloomy
• lightless
• obscure
• obscured
• pitch-black
• pitch-dark
• pitchy
• rayless
• somber
• sombre
• stygian
• tenebrific
• tenebrous
• unlit

Examples of murky in a Sentence

She peered into one of the church's murky chapels.

a politician with a murky past

Recent Examples on the Web

But the dog domestication saga gets even murkier in the context of the peopling of the Americas, which might have occurred sometime between 27,000 and 16,000 years ago. —Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Dec. 2024

Yet the science surrounding the Pet Effect is murky, at best. —Jessica Pierce, TIME, 15 Dec. 2024

The outlook after that is a bit murky, according to Morgan Stanley. —Alex Harring, CNBC, 13 Dec. 2024

Bluntly, people make decisions based on trust when data is murky. —Koray Köse, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing murky

• murky waters

Kids Definition

murky

adjective

ˈmər-kē 

murkier; murkiest

1

: very dark or gloomy

2

: foggy sense 1, misty

3

: difficult to understand

a murky reply designed to confuse

murkiness noun