murky

/ˈmɜː(ɹ)ki/

//ˈmɜː(ɹ)ki// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"murky" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“murky” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #24,838. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#24,838
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Hard to see through, as a fog or mist.

Corpus desk

Index EN-murky · murky · English

murky · rank #24,838 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #24,838
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH muck

Nearest frequency peer: muck (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “murky”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “murky” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

murky vs musk
60% similar
murky vs mushy
60% similar
murky vs musty
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for murky
PropertyValue
Headwordmurky
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈmɜː(ɹ)ki/
Letters5
Frequency rank#24,838
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “murky”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).murkylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “muck” (#24,837), “nab” (#24,839), “mouthpiece” (#24,836). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “murky” is #24,838. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around murky (IPA /ˈmɜː(ɹ)ki/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #24,838 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for murky, with forms such as "mmurky", "mruky", and "mukry". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "musk", "mushy", "musty", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English mirky. Related to Old Norse myrkr, Russian мрак (mrak) and its Slavic cognates. By surface analysis, murk + -y. The correct English form is murky, spelled M-U-R-K-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Hard to see through, as a fog or mist.
  2. 2
    Dark, dim, gloomy.
  3. 3
    Cloudy, indistinct, obscure.
  4. 4
    Dishonest, shady.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how murky appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The Streets of London, to be beheld in the very height of their glory, should be seen on a dark, dull, murky, winter's night, when there is just enough damp gently stealing down to make the pavement greasy without cleansing it of any of its impurities, […]
  2. Ferdinand: As I hope / For quite dayes, faire Iſſue, and long life, / With ſuch loue, as 'tis now the murkieſt den, / The moſt opportune place, the ſtrongſt ſuggeſtion, / Our worſer Genius can, shall neuer melt / Mine honor into luſt,[…]

Etymology

From Middle English mirky. Related to Old Norse myrkr, Russian мрак (mrak) and its Slavic cognates. By surface analysis, murk + -y.

Synonyms

dark

This word in other languages

turbio(Español)sombre(Français)düster(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • mmurky
  • mruky
  • mukry
  • murkky
  • murkyy
  • murrky
  • muryk
  • umrky

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of murky - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

mmurky1mruky2mukry2murkky1murkyy1murrky1muryk2umrky2
Edit distance from "murky"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "murky"?
"murky" is spelled M-U-R-K-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɜː(ɹ)ki/.
What does "murky" mean?
As an adjective, "murky" means: Hard to see through, as a fog or mist.
What words are commonly confused with "murky"?
"murky" is commonly confused with "musk", "mushy", "musty". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "murky"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "murky" is /ˈmɜː(ɹ)ki/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "murky"?
From Middle English mirky. Related to Old Norse myrkr, Russian мрак (mrak) and its Slavic cognates. By surface analysis, murk + -y. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "murky", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Morty#24,834massa#24,821Patsy#24,858laces#24,812

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

Marissa8 variantsLucian8 variantsJosiah8 variantsrants8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list