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

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

ˈmər-kə-lē 

adverb

murkiness

ˈmər-kē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms of murky

• darkened
• dark

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

Samples from the south pole, such as those containing material blasted out of the lunar interior more than 4 billion years ago, could shed light on an unknown chapter of the moon’s murky story, Andrews-Hanna said. —Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 21 Feb. 2026

More and more hard-to-trace checks are laundered among political committees, with their murky-sounding names and Tallahassee addresses, frustrating attempts by voters or the media to figure out exactly who’s giving to whom. —Steve Bousquet, Sun Sentinel, 21 Feb. 2026

But residency requirements are murky. —Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2026

Will the number of question marks on the roster make Buzelis’ usage murky? —Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing murky

• murky waters

Rhymes for murky

• jerky
• perky
• quirky
• turki

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