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

Whether that translates to ballot-box results remains murky. —Arkansas Online, 30 Mar. 2026

But aside from Ballard’s murky future, Indy’s roster moves this offseason haven’t felt as palpably urgent as Irsay-Gordon suggested. —James Boyd, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2026

The lack of clarity about IPRoyal’s proxy network coverage, as well as its murky privacy policy, leaves it behind in those two key categories. —Justyn Newman, PC Magazine, 25 Mar. 2026

Mueller’s inability to get to the bottom of the murk did not make the murk any less murky. —David Frum, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 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