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Turbid and turgid (which means "swollen or distended" or "overblown, pompous, or bombastic") are frequently mistaken for one another, and it's no wonder. Not only do the two words differ by only a letter, they are often used in contexts where either word could fit. For example, a flooded stream can be simultaneously cloudy and swollen, and badly written prose might be both unclear (another sense of turbid) and grandiloquent. Nevertheless, the distinction between these two words, however fine, is an important one for conveying exact shades of meaning, so it's a good idea to keep them straight. Turbid, like its relative turbulent, comes ultimately from the Latin noun turba, meaning "confusion" or "crowd," while turgid comes from the Latin verb turgēre, "to be swollen."
Examples of turbid in a Sentence
IEEE Spectrum, 20 Nov. 2024
Grass carp make the water more turbid; stiltgrass and common reed can block sight lines and reduce property values; and sea lamprey are a shocking sight when they are attached to sport fish.
—Caitlin Looby, Journal Sentinel, 12 Sep. 2024
The die-offs may be attributable to algae blooms and cloudy, turbid water observed by scientists in the spring and summer of 2022, VIMS and the Chesapeake Bay Program said in news releases.
—Christine Condon, Baltimore Sun, 31 July 2024
What a sober, heartbreaking affirmation of life, and play, and sensuality, there in Paris, beside the turbid Seine, with the trenches — brimming with mud, death and excrement, not far to the east.
—Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 11 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for turbid
Cite this Entry
“Turbid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/turbid. Accessed 20 May. 2025.
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turbid
adjective
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