checkered

[ chek-erd ]

/ ˈtʃɛk ərd /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for checkered on Thesaurus.com

adjective

marked by numerous and various shifts or changes; variegated: a checkered career.

marked by dubious episodes; suspect in character or quality: a checkered past.

marked with squares: a checkered fabric.

diversified in color; alternately light and shadowed: the checkered shade beneath trees.

OTHER WORDS FOR checkered

1 varied, uneven, irregular, seesaw.

See synonyms for checkered on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of checkered

1350–1400; Middle English. See checker¹, -ed²

OTHER WORDS FROM checkered

un·check·ered, adjective

Words nearby checkered

checkedy, checker, checkerberry, checkerbloom, checkerboard, checkered, checkered career, checkered flag, checkered lily, checkers, checkerspot

How to use checkered in a sentence

The field of dreams is nothing if not a place for players with checkered pasts who nonetheless can’t let the game go.
What If ‘Field Of Dreams’ Got A Do-Over? Our Picks For An Updated Lineup.|Neil Paine (neil.paine@fivethirtyeight.com)|August 11, 2021|FiveThirtyEight
A small bearded man, Coccia turned up in a blue suit and blue checkered tie, completely inappropriate attire for the outdoors, even though we had agreed that we would take a walk in the forest together.
Plants Feel Pain and Might Even See - Issue 104: Harmony|Peter Wohlleben|July 21, 2021|Nautilus
Dysregulation isn’t the only psych term with a checkered past definition that Kennedy uses in a lighter, more evolved way.
How Dr. Becky Became the Millennial Parenting Whisperer|Doree Shafrir|June 26, 2021|Time
It is well past time for medicine’s checkered past to give way to a future where the fabric of women’s experience is recognized and respected in its entirety.
Medical Myths About Gender Roles Go Back to Ancient Greece. Women Are Still Paying the Price Today|Elinor Cleghorn|June 17, 2021|Time

Surveillance technologies and the San Diego border have a checkered history.
Border Report: Mexico’s Massive Election, at a Glance|Gustavo Solis|June 7, 2021|Voice of San Diego
On a “warm up session,” he can be seen donning a checkered shirt and baseball hat atop his bushy ponytail.
Meet Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, aka L. Jinny, the Ali G of Evil|Olivia Nuzzi|August 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Your character has a great look, with the short bob and the checkered dress.
Neve Campbell on ‘Mad Men,’ ‘90s Nostalgia, and Why the ‘Scream’ Movie Franchise is Over|Marlow Stern|April 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He started out with a mixed, checkered record [and] seemed to be ready to build a good relationship with the West.
Ukraine’s D.C. Lobbyists in Disarray as Dictator Flees|Eli Lake|February 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Although it should be noted that Feldman does have a checkered past.
George Zimmerman Wants to Profit Off Trayvon Martin’s Death|Dean Obeidallah|February 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In a video uploaded to YouTube, a young man, wearing a checkered keffiyeh over his face, said he was a Svoboda member.
Ukraine Protesters Turn Stun Guns On Each Other|Oleg Shynkarenko|January 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In short, the news was exactly of that checkered order which was calculated to put us all in the highest spirits.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
She sat all alone, plucking nervously at the red-and-white checkered tablecloth.
The Man from Time|Frank Belknap Long
Together we rejoiced at the escape of Sill and Lamson, and made merry over the vicissitudes of my checkered career.
Famous Adventures And Prison Escapes of the Civil War|Various
The ground is checkered with flakes of sunlight that fall through the leaves, and over all is the silence of the summer noon.
The Saxons|Edwin Davies Schoonmaker
Here the merry chase had swept the hills; here revelry and pageantry had checkered a life of fierce strife and haughty oppression.
The International Monthly, Volume 3, No. 1, April, 1851|Various