Word
brackish
Phoneticsbrack·ish
US/ˈbɹækɪʃ/
UK/bɹˈækɪʃ/
Definitions
01salty water
adj. describes water that is a mix of fresh water and sea water, making it slightly salty.
adj. containing a mixture of seawater and fresh water; having a salinity level between 0.5 and 30 grams of salt per litre.
“The river becomes brackish near the coast where it meets the ocean.”
“Mangrove trees have evolved specialized root systems that allow them to thrive in the brackish conditions of tropical estuaries.”
Technical
Usage
Usually describes water in nature, such as in marshes, lagoons, or estuaries.
Antonyms
02unpleasant taste
adj. having an unpleasant or slightly salty taste that you do not like.
adj. distasteful or unpalatable, often due to a salty or stagnant quality.
“The old well provided only brackish water that was difficult to drink.”
“He grimaced at the brackish tea, which had been brewed with water from a poorly maintained cistern.”
Literary
Teaching tip
This sense is less common than the scientific one and is mostly found in older literature or descriptions of poor living conditions.
Synonyms
Real-World Examples
“The roads around Ground Zero stayed flooded for weeks; the water was green and brackish.” “Road salt and other pollutants increase dissolved ions in streams, potentially creating conditions that make it easier for round goby, which are native to brackish waters in Eurasia, to move farther inland.” 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.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/brackish