scratchy
Americanadjective
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scratchier,
comparative
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scratchiest
superlative
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causing or liable to cause a slight grating noise.
a scratchy record.
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consisting of or marked by scratches.
a scratchy drawing.
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uneven; haphazard.
He plays a scratchy game.
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causing itching or other minor irritation of the skin.
a scratchy woolen sweater.
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causing or liable to cause a scratch or scratches.
scratchy bushes.
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Chiefly British Slang. peevish; spiteful.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of scratchy
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:
This latest half-century was much more impressive than a scratchy innings in Leeds.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
In his first game in charge, a scratchy and late win against Cyprus, a crowd of 31,277 turned up at Hampden.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
It is one reason why those interviews are often more scratchy and have more interruptions than they might otherwise have.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
“I’m feeling better,” McVay, with a scratchy voice, said after the game, adding that he attempted to take precautions to avoid spreading the bug to others.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 7, 2025
Looking at the running lake water makes me remember how scratchy my throat is.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
If his most recent news conference is any indication, those may become scratchier.
From New York Times ● Apr. 23, 2021
“Got any kids?” he asked, his scratchy voice even scratchier than usual.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2018
Meanwhile, both speaking and singing, her voice was considerably lower, huskier and scratchier than it had been during “Auld Lang Syne.”
From New York Times ● Jan. 1, 2017
The Italian has become the second Ireland manager to lead the nation to the European Championship and the squad that he has here in Poland is indisputably of scratchier quality.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 8, 2012
“Let me go,” Tobias says, and he sounds scratchier than before.
From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
“I’ve always enjoyed playing against the Rays just because they were the toughest, scratchiest team we played against and now I’m on the other side of it. I’m ready to go.”
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 31, 2021
He may have got the top score, narrowly, but it was the scratchiest of innings.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 23, 2019
Events through the summer on Governors Island and at the Governors Club Verboten’s stageONE Verboten’s four-part series of parties in Bushwick Inlet Park will make even the chin scratchiest of dance music devotees happy.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 27, 2015
The bonus point Gloucester secured with an injury-time consolatory try ranked among the scratchiest in the competition's history.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 19, 2010
Hadn't he pulled off races on the scratchiest of polo ponies, when he couldn't afford better, out of sheer intention?
From The Dark Tower by J. H. Gardner Soper
Definitions 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.
