Wordul · all words

adjective · 2 syllables · /'mɜːr.ki/

MURKY

What does "MURKY" mean?

Dark, gloomy, or cloudy, and hard to see through or understand clearly.

Meanings

  1. Dark and dim; hard to see through, as with cloudy water or fog. Something pale moved in the murky water below the pier.
  2. Unclear, obscure, or suspect, especially about facts or motives. The company's finances had a decidedly murky history. figurative

Word origin

From Middle English 'mirke', from Old English 'mirce', 'dark, gloomy', related to Old Norse 'myrkr', 'darkness'; the modern spelling and '-y' ending firmed up by the 17th century.

Remember it

MURKY hides 'murk' - an old word for darkness itself; add the gloomy 'y' and you can't see the bottom.

A little poem

The pond keeps its dead
and its coins at the same depth-
murk asks no questions.

haiku

Wordplay

  • The detective said the case and the river had the same problem: both were murky, and the truth was somewhere at the bottom.

What it teaches

We call a thing murky when we'd rather blame the water than admit we haven't looked long enough.

Quick facts

What does MURKY mean?

Dark, gloomy, or cloudy, and hard to see through or understand clearly.

Is MURKY a valid word?

Yes — MURKY is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.

How many letters is MURKY?

MURKY has 5 letters and 2 syllables.

Where does MURKY come from?

From Middle English 'mirke', from Old English 'mirce', 'dark, gloomy', related to Old Norse 'myrkr', 'darkness'; the modern spelling and '-y' ending firmed up by the 17th century.

What can MURKY teach us?

We call a thing murky when we'd rather blame the water than admit we haven't looked long enough.

How players do

Be the first to solve it.

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