murkier; murkiest
Synonyms of murkynext
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
Handicapped by my seasickness and by the murky skies, I hardly ever could make my star sights work.Robert Shenk
3
: darkly vague or obscure
murky official rhetoric
He offered a murky explanation.
murkily adverb
murkiness noun

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Companies have spent billions of dollars rolling out AI across their workforces, but widespread adoption still lags across major economies, and the reasons have been murky. Rachyl Jones, semafor.com, 13 Apr. 2026 Architectonics takes this murky style and plunges it to a new deep, incorporating the bronze gong and chime sounds of gamelan while burying his rhythms in dense, dubby layers of incense smoke. Sam Goldner, Pitchfork, 13 Apr. 2026 If Rob Manfred were to wake up tomorrow morning and decide to do away with the seventh-inning stretch, untold amounts of swearing and freaking out would ensue, even though the origins of the practice are murky and the exercise itself is largely an empty signifier. Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 10 Apr. 2026 And yet, this is exactly where the 26-year-old graduate of Hough High School in Cornelius finds herself — somewhere in the long, murky middle between getting noticed and actually getting there. Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 10 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for murky

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of murky was in the 14th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Murky.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/murky. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.

Kids Definition

murky

adjective
murkier; murkiest
1
: very dark or gloomy
2
3
: difficult to understand
a murky reply designed to confuse
murkiness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on murky

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster