murky water
5
3.4
- noun
- /ˈmɜrki ˈwɔtər/
:
agua turbia
- Faul's feet splashed in the murky water, and the sound grew more plodding as the vegetation thickened around them.
Examples
-
I stopped and leaned on the bridge rail, staring into the murky waters of the Platte.
Fiction book (1995) -
The others look down in the murky water.
Fiction book (2001) -
For safety in the murky waters, we stick close together.
Academic text (2009) -
Ed looks at the bathtub, which is full of murky water.
Fiction book (2000) -
Most of the murky water has drained and left a dirty ring around the tub.
Fiction book (2000) -
The last remnants of the beast sink beneath the murky waters of the pit.
Fiction book (1992) -
While Grandpa and Andy talked, I baited my hooks and made a cast into the murky waters near the bar.
Fiction book (1992) -
The children played near the edge of the pond, where the water was dark and murky water made it hard to see the bottom.
-
He avoided swimming in the murky water because he was worried about what might be lurking beneath the surface.
-
The fisherman noticed that the river's murky water was caused by the recent heavy rain washing debris into it.
Synonyms
1
9.0
A cloudiness in water that small bits of dirt cause
1
5.9
Cloudy darkness that makes it hard to see through water or air
1
3.2
A liquid or the sky that is not clear because it has small bits in it
Water that looks cloudy or a sound that is hard to understand
A cloudy state in water or a photo that makes it hard to see through
Antonyms
How Murky
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase 'murky water' is a straightforward adjective+noun composition where 'murky' (dark or cloudy) directly modifies 'water', so the combined meaning is immediately derivable from the constituents. This is a common, cross‑linguistic descriptive pattern and would be clear to a B1 learner who knows both words.
Etymology
Murky water comes from the clear image of water mixed with dirt or mud so it looks dark and cloudy. When water is full of tiny bits that hide what is under it, it becomes murky, so the phrase means 'water that is dark or hard to see through'.