brackish

adjective

brack·ish ˈbra-kish

Synonyms of brackish next

: somewhat salty

brackish water

: not appealing to the taste

brackish tea

: repulsive

a brackish personality

brackishness noun

Did you know?

When the word brackish first appeared in English in the 1500s, it simply meant "salty," as did its Dutch parent brak. (English speakers also adopted the synonymous brack from the same source but it gets very little use.) Then, as now, brackish was used to describe water that was a mixture of saltwater and freshwater, such as one encounters where a river meets the sea. Since that time, however, brackish has developed the additional meanings of "unpalatable" and "repulsive," presumably because of the oozy, mucky, and sometimes stinky (or stinkyish, if you prefer)—not just salty—qualities of coastal estuaries and swamps.

Examples of brackish in a Sentence

the office coffee is often some brackish brew that's been sitting around for a couple of hours the river becomes brackish as we approach the tidemark

Recent Examples on the Web

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.

The Florida Health Department offers the following tips to minimize the risk of exposure to vibrio: Avoid swimming or wading in floodwaters, standing water, seawater, and brackish water, if possible. —

Lisa Rapaport, EverydayHealth.com, 11 Oct. 2024 Zelda’s unburdened from expectation and free to explore — from the brackish waters shared by the Sea and River Zora to the deserts the exclusively-female Gerudo calls home (which Zelda, blessedly, doesn’t need to sneak into, as Link usually must!). —

James Perkins Mastromarino, NPR, 25 Sep. 2024 Preferring shallow, brackish waters, cownose rays often swim at the surface, reducing the risk of human encounters. —

Melissa Cristina Marquez, Forbes, 20 Sep. 2024 River otters are relatively common throughout Washington and can be found in fresh, brackish or saltwater habitats, according to the agency. —

Rebekah Riess, CNN, 14 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for brackish