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When the word brackish first appeared in English in the 1500s, it simply meant "salty," as did its Dutch parent brak. (English speakers also adopted the synonymous brack from the same source but it gets very little use.) Then, as now, brackish was used to describe water that was a mixture of saltwater and freshwater, such as one encounters where a river meets the sea. Since that time, however, brackish has developed the additional meanings of "unpalatable" and "repulsive," presumably because of the oozy, mucky, and sometimes stinky (or stinkyish, if you prefer)—not just salty—qualities of coastal estuaries and swamps.
Examples of brackish in a Sentence
Big Think, 17 Oct. 2025
At its southernmost edge, guests can see the freshwater of the Rio Grande River meet the Gulf of Mexico, where only 35 feet of brackish water separates the United States and Mexico.
—Gabi De La Rosa, Southern Living, 15 Oct. 2025
Vibrio are a flesh-eating bacteria that thrive in saltwater and brackish water (a mix of salt and fresh water).
—Cara Lynn Shultz, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2025
The other adapts to seawater or brackish water sources by including desalination.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 16 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Brackish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brackish. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
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brackish
adjective
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