adj · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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/ˈbɹækɪʃ/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ækɪʃ
CMU ARPABET:B R AE1 K IH0 SH
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Of water, salty or slightly salty, as a mixture of fresh and sea water, such as that found in estuaries.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: geography, hydrology, natural-sciences
Examples
1992, Joyce Carol Oates, Black Water, Penguin Books, paperback edition, page 4. On all sides a powerful brackish marshland odor, the odor of damp, and decay, and black earth, black water.
2004, David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas, Random House. The water we took on at Chatham Isle is now brackish & without a dash of brandy in it, my stomach rebels.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
adj
Meaning 2
Distasteful; unpleasant; not appealing to the taste.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
adj
Meaning 3
Repulsive.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
adjective satellite
Meaning 4
slightly salty (especially from containing a mixture of seawater and fresh water)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
a brackish lagoon
the briny deep
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: briny
Antonyms: none provided
5
adjective satellite
Meaning 5
distasteful and unpleasant; spoiled by mixture
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
a thin brackish gruel
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
From Scottish brack (from Middle Dutch brac (“brackish”)) + -ish. Cognate with Dutch brak (“brackish”), German Low German brack, brakerg, brakig (“brackish”), German brackig (“brackish”), Danish brak (“brackish”), Swedish bräck (“brackish”), Norwegian brakk (“brackish”). Perhaps a distant doublet of brook.
Across languages
Translations
55 source translations are retained for this English entry.
