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

Tannenbaum operates in the murky world of business development companies, which are publicly traded private-credit funds that lend to small and midsize companies. — Danielle Chemtob, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026

While this is a normal step in the cleaning process, when soaking, bacteria begin to multiply, causing the water to shift from helpful to murky, says Jennifer Parnell, co-founder of Humble Suds. — Olivia McIntosh, Martha Stewart, 27 July 2026

Many of the battlegrounds are set, and a few are yet to be decided in primaries, but the answer remains murky. — Maham Javaid, NPR, 27 July 2026

But the ethical waters are murky, and any such project should have high levels of public transparency and accountability, said Lisa Moses, a veterinarian and bioethicist at Harvard Medical School. — Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 25 July 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