Turbid vs Turgid
turbid
muddy/cloudy
turgid
swollen or pompous
How to tell them apart
turBid water is muddy, a murky Broth. turGid is swollen, think bulGing or Gorged (also pompous prose). B = cloudy Broth; G = Gorged/swollen.
Test yourself
Which word fits from context? Pick one, then reveal the answer. This is exactly how the GRE tests these pairs.
Question 1
After the storm, the river ran , its churned-up silt clouding the water until nothing beneath the surface was visible.
Choose: turbid or turgid
Show answer
Answer: turbid
'churned-up silt clouding the water' is muddy/cloudy (turbid); turgid (swollen/pompous) does not describe murkiness.
Question 2
The bureaucrat's prose, bloated with grandiose jargon and empty flourishes, obscured a message that was actually quite simple.
Choose: turbid or turgid
Show answer
Answer: turgid
'bloated with grandiose jargon and empty flourishes' marks pompous, inflated writing (turgid); turbid means muddy, not verbose.
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