1
as in unappetizing
disagreeable or disgusting to the sense of taste
the office coffee is often some brackish brew that's been sitting around for a couple of hours
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of brackish
The water is brackish and refreshingly cold, with darting fish nibbling at dangling feet.
—
Anna Zacharias, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Jan. 2026
The species thrives in brackish water.
—Alasdair Pal, USA Today, 20 Jan. 2026
McNulty said the boy and his friends had been leaping off a popular six-meter (20 foot) rock into water turned brackish by heavy rain over the weekend.
—Lex Harvey, CNN Money, 19 Jan. 2026
In middle age, though, the only seaway Melville encountered was the brackish Hudson and his journeys consisted of tabulating the wool unloaded from Manchester, rum from Havana, and tea from Calcutta.
—Literary Hub, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for brackish
Anna Zacharias, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Jan. 2026
The species thrives in brackish water.
—Alasdair Pal, USA Today, 20 Jan. 2026
McNulty said the boy and his friends had been leaping off a popular six-meter (20 foot) rock into water turned brackish by heavy rain over the weekend.
—Lex Harvey, CNN Money, 19 Jan. 2026
In middle age, though, the only seaway Melville encountered was the brackish Hudson and his journeys consisted of tabulating the wool unloaded from Manchester, rum from Havana, and tea from Calcutta.
—Literary Hub, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for brackish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brackish
Adjective
-
The administration has asked for an astonishing $200 billion to fund a war that the president also sporadically claims is over, giving legislators an unappetizing choice between funding a quagmire or else walking away and leaving a mess behind.—
David A. Graham,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Reaching for your leftover guacamole and discovering it’s turned an unappetizing shade of brown after a day in the fridge.—
Olivia Tarantino,
Martha Stewart,
6 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Carolina cherry laurel is moderately salt tolerant and performs well in coastal landscapes.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Visitors are not allowed to drink anything underground because the floors — the walls, too — are salt.—
Lisa Gutierrez,
Kansas City Star,
4 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Allowing Iran to continue to control the crucial waterway is likely to be highly unpalatable to Gulf states including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE.—
Kyle Orland,
ArsTechnica,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Dry fields are also vulnerable to noxious weeds like leafy spurge and toadflax, which are toxic to cattle and unpalatable to native ungulates like deer and pronghorn antelope.—
Krista Kafer,
Denver Post,
7 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The Great Salt Lake is the largest saline lake in the Northern Hemisphere, and the world's 8th-largest, said Hannah Freeze, deputy commissioner of the Great Salt Lake.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA Today,
12 Apr. 2026
-
The saline lake has been shrinking rapidly since the early 2000s, when the Imperial Irrigation District began selling some of its Colorado River water to growing urban areas under an agreement with agencies in San Diego County and the Coachella Valley.—
Ian James,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Ornamental onions, chives, and spring onions produce a scent and flavor that squirrels find distasteful.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
3 Apr. 2026
-
That’s a very distasteful election-year predicament for many.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
There were dozens of bizarre and unsavory figures in this world, like New Kids on the Block manager turned Ponzi fraudster Lou Pearlman.—
K. Thor Jensen,
PC Magazine,
10 Apr. 2026
-
The scene involves an unsavory routine on how to recognize a shoplifter.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
On that horrible day, Dad was outside his vehicle supervising a ditch cleaning operation when a driver ignored traffic control devices, drove through a closed lane, and struck him, pinning him between two vehicles.—
Allysson Bornt,
New York Daily News,
19 Apr. 2026
-
And every family has that annoying uncle that makes horrible jokes or one situation after another.—
Lexi Lane,
PEOPLE,
18 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The duo made up for the absence of Wembanyama, who did not clear concussion protocol after a nasty fall knocked him out early from a Game 2 loss.—
Christian Clark,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Lomu did not fit the typical profile Mike Vrabel seeks in linemen, players with a nasty streak and fierce play demeanor.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Brackish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brackish. Accessed 26 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
