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

The highlighting reticles for discoverables are thankfully forgiving — ideal for the murky depths that would otherwise hide them. —Matt Gardner, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025

The questions, though, are a bit different this offseason, as Toronto’s optimal path forward is pretty murky, and any mistakes management makes in the next few weeks will only compound their issues. —James Mirtle, New York Times, 18 June 2025

But what actually happened at the Whitsett West Tiny Home Village in North Hollywood remains murky. —Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 14 June 2025

Later this week: Two additional Sly & the Family Stone No. 1s take the group into darker and murkier territory, with similarly spellbinding results. —Paul Grein, Billboard, 11 June 2025

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