iffy

[if-ee]

adjective

Informal.

iffier, iffiest 

1. full of unresolved points or questions.

   an iffy situation.

   Synonyms: speculative, uncertain, unsettled, doubtful

2. doubtful; questionable.

   An early decision on this is iffy.

iffy

/ ˈɪfɪ /

adjective

1. informal,  uncertain or subject to contingency

   this scheme sounds a bit iffy

Other Word Forms

• iffiness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of iffy¹

First recorded in 1915–20; if + -y ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of iffy¹

C20: from _if + _-y ¹

Example Sentences

This year the strategy has been iffy: The fund has posted a total return of just 5.4%, compared to the S&P 500’s nearly 16% gain this year.

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It’s very iffy for me every time I make it.

Read more on Salon

When passport sales were first mooted in 2012 by the then Antiguan government as a way of propping up the ailing economy, some considered the ethics a little iffy.

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Some challenges off the pitch, then, but on it the Lions, after an iffy start, pulled away impressively.

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Manipulating all these people to do their bidding, the charming if morally iffy twins are talented at turning a no into a yes.

Read more on Los Angeles Times