William Saunders
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Turbid and turgid (which means "swollen or distended" or "overblown, pompous, or bombastic") are frequently mistaken for one another, and it's no wonder. Not only do the two words differ by only a letter, they are often used in contexts where either word could fit. For example, a flooded stream can be simultaneously cloudy and swollen, and badly written prose might be both unclear (another sense of turbid) and grandiloquent. Nevertheless, the distinction between these two words, however fine, is an important one for conveying exact shades of meaning, so it's a good idea to keep them straight. Turbid, like its relative turbulent, comes ultimately from the Latin noun turba, meaning "confusion" or "crowd," while turgid comes from the Latin verb turgēre, "to be swollen."
Examples of turbid in a Sentence
Melissa Cristina Márquez, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Why does Mitch find the view beautiful, though the water is turbid and he is enveloped in the scent of incense and candles?
—Katie Kitamura, Harpers Magazine, 16 July 2025
Storefronts were sandbagged against the turbid floodwaters, which have remained high in Benton for multiple days.
—Keisha Rowe, The Courier-Journal, 2 July 2025
Normally, turbid water like this would take us forever to filter.
—Literary Hub, 16 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for turbid
Cite this Entry
“Turbid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/turbid. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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Medical Definition
turbid
adjective
