1
as in darkened
being without light or without much light
I didn't like walking around the murky campground without a flashlight
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dark
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer
the murky shadows of the cemetery
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in hazy
filled with or dimmed by fine particles (as of dust or water) in suspension
skies made murky from the smoke of forest fires that were many miles to the west
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4
as in ambiguous
having an often intentionally veiled or uncertain meaning
a murky reply to a question about his intentions
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5
as in vague
not seen or understood clearly
a gubernatorial candidate with a murky position on the hot-button issue of capital punishment
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of murky
Details of the ceasefire negotiations are murky.
—
Politifact, Dallas Morning News, 8 Apr. 2026
Then there’s the murky void of David Zinn’s set, which strands the characters up until the final scene in New England apartments and hotel rooms rendered entirely in black.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 7 Apr. 2026
The law gets a little more murky with certain types of reptiles including turtles and salamanders.
—Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 7 Apr. 2026
Exact numbers of staff reduction unclear The number of AP journalists who will lose jobs is murky, in part intentionally.
—David Bauder, Fortune, 6 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for murky
Politifact, Dallas Morning News, 8 Apr. 2026
Then there’s the murky void of David Zinn’s set, which strands the characters up until the final scene in New England apartments and hotel rooms rendered entirely in black.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 7 Apr. 2026
The law gets a little more murky with certain types of reptiles including turtles and salamanders.
—Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 7 Apr. 2026
Exact numbers of staff reduction unclear The number of AP journalists who will lose jobs is murky, in part intentionally.
—David Bauder, Fortune, 6 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for murky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for murky
Adjective
-
In the darkened foyer, Ember contemplated this unassuming bit of paper, momentarily paralyzed by a mixture of dread and excitement stirred together, an overpowering sensation that oozed from the crown of her head, down the length of her body, then hardened, like a soft golden resin becoming solid.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Apr. 2026
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As scientists often find darkened teeth in ancient burials, other factors can contribute to a black appearance, notably the chewing of betel leaves.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Sunscreen protects against sun damage, premature aging and dark spots.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Harden, 36, with his famous, protruding beard and those dark, piercing eyes, was determined to use his star power to get his way, to bring with him a slice of comfort to a new city.—
Joe Vardon,
New York Times,
7 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The Hole was a place where a mother was blind, deaf, and utterly disconnected to her previous life, the concepts of career and friendship and exercise and positive reinforcement just hazy memories of a distant realm.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Apr. 2026
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Article continues below Star clusters and dimmer nebulas are visible threaded through the galactic plane, while the Large Magellanic Cloud — a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way — appears as a hazy patch of light to the bottom right of the shot.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
8 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Obliterated it, which is not an ambiguous term.—
Brian Dakss,
CBS News,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Samuel Dic Sum Lai, a PhD candidate at the University of London, has dedicated his studies to chronicling the ambiguous history and culture of these restaurants.—
Sam Stone,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
This year, the administration’s budget proposal doesn’t include a hard deadline for phasing out SLS and Orion, just the vaguer request to look for commercial alternatives.—
Sana Pashankar,
Fortune,
11 Apr. 2026
-
There’s just sort of vague purple-ish themes throughout the special.—
Deputy Entertainment,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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That’s partly because their bleak ending feels like a foregone conclusion from the start, even as Levinson’s frequently funny script crackles with comic depravity.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
10 Apr. 2026
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While the subject matter is bleak, Almodóvar balances the darkness with a tenderness and sensitivity that comes from a career of exploring women's lives at their most intimate.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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To the left of Castor and Pollux lies the constellation Cancer, the crab, the core of which plays host to the 100-strong stellar population of the Beehive Cluster (M44), which is visible as a small, misty patch of light on moonless nights.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
19 Mar. 2026
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Other images similarly mix the romantic and the mundane, with glamorous students in front of kitschy backdrops of misty woodlands or positioned between towering candelabras.—
Jacqui Palumbo,
CNN Money,
11 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Simultaneously, the solo careers of fellow Pornographers Neko Case and Dan Bejar had begun to take flight—Case as maybe the greatest country torch singer of her generation, and Bejar in his cryptic Leonard Cohen-adjacent auteur mode as Destroyer.—
Elizabeth Nelson,
Pitchfork,
8 Apr. 2026
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There’s a mysterious new leader of EON (ExtraOrdinary Observation and Neutralization), according to a cryptic summary.—
Entertainment Weekly,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Murky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/murky. Accessed 13 Apr. 2026.
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