sketchy
Americanadjective
-
sketchier,
comparative
-
sketchiest
superlative
adjective
-
characteristic of a sketch; existing only in outline
-
superficial or slight
-
informal uncertain or unreliable
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of sketchy
Explanation
Something sketchy is incomplete: it includes the major points but lacks detail. If a political candidate avoids going into detail about her political views, you might say her platform is sketchy. A sketch is a quick drawing that doesn't have a lot of detail. That definition should help you remember that sketchy things are incomplete. A sketchy speech from the President will outline some important ideas but be short on specifics. A sketchy plan for the weekend would be "Let's go out to eat." That's sketchy because it has the general idea but no specifics, such as the time or place.
Vocabulary lists containing sketchy
Whirligig
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Down and Across
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The Boys Who Challenged Hitler
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
However, analysts have noted that the details have remained sketchy, including whether there will be a fee to access the waterway.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
He was in molt, a sketchy splotch of red and black while he waited for his new plumage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
“People will be like, ‘I don’t go to downtown anymore, it’s so sketchy now, my car got broken into last time and I feel weird letting a girl walk to a car by herself.’
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
One way to make this less of a sketchy move is to check in first.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
The only decoration on the plain white walls was a small, sketchy illustration in a black wooden frame.
From "A Tangle of Knots" by Lisa Graff
Southern California’s most dangerous surf spot, the Wedge, has become even sketchier in recent months.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
With help from Morricone, whose interviews anchor the documentary, Tornatore ably fills in the composer’s family history, though the details become sketchier as the musician’s fame steadily grows.
From New York Times ● Feb. 8, 2024
He has stayed here even as this stretch of Lankershim Boulevard became sketchier, even as the COVID-19 pandemic forced him to lay off all his employees.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2023
Omicron’s impact is difficult to gauge in other parts of the world, where data are often sketchier.
From Science Magazine ● Jan. 25, 2022
Naturally, Europe and its many loops were well-defined, but farther afield things got sketchier.
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
He messaged Lutz about his experiences: “It was definitely the sketchiest thing I have ever had to do.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 25, 2026
“The majority gives only the sketchiest of reasons for reversing Teague’s watershed exception,” Kagan wrote.
From Slate ● May 17, 2021
Over two recording sessions for Columbia Records in early 1959, Davis would hand out the sketchiest of outlines for the music and leave the rest to extemporization.
From Washington Post ● May 25, 2020
My last job had been working at the juice bar of a funky, not-too-clean health food store in one of the sketchiest neighborhoods in L.A.
From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2012
The sketchiest summary of his early and late activities brings out the singleness of the central purpose moving through his life.
From Letters of Franklin K. Lane by Louise Herrick Wall
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
