scratchy

[ skrach-ee ]

/ ˈskrætʃ i /

causing or liable to cause a slight grating noise: a scratchy record.

consisting of or marked by scratches: a scratchy drawing.

uneven; haphazard: He plays a scratchy game.

causing itching or other minor irritation of the skin: a scratchy woolen sweater.

causing or liable to cause a scratch or scratches: scratchy bushes.

Chiefly British Slang. peevish; spiteful.

Nearby words

First recorded in 1700–10; scratch + -y¹

scratch·i·ly, adverbscratch·i·ness, noun

Cochran had come down with some nasty throat bug and his voice was low and scratchy, but that only made it better.
How Thad Cochran Pulled Off a Win Over Chris McDaniel (Simple, Really)|Stuart Stevens|June 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Is that scratchy rug atop her head really meant to be Kate's famously silken locks?
Kate's First Official Portrait: Will Artist be Sent To Tower for Hideous Picture?|Tom Sykes|January 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Once again, Pharoah hammers down every screechy, scratchy vocal tic while doing a Rock-sian riff on Romeo and Juliet.
Barack Obama and Jay Pharoah’s 7 Best Celebrity Impressions (VIDEO)|Kevin Fallon|September 14, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Last year, she had a chance to meet Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma, 16 years after seeing that scratchy video in Beijing.
Alyse Nelson: A Life Less Ordinary|Abigail Pesta|June 6, 2012|DAILY BEAST

The rebels said so, in their scratchy broadcasts from across the border.
Vanished in Uganda|Andrew Rice|June 5, 2009|DAILY BEAST
I stood it while he stuffed my pockets, but rebelled when he tried to poke the prickly, scratchy things inside my shirt.
Alaska Days with John Muir|Samuel Hall Young
Now I could distinctly hear a sound of whispering, and something slithered over the panels, with a rasping, scratchy noise.
The House on the Borderland|William Hope Hodgson
The execution of the work is not of a very high order, but is rather irregular and scratchy.
Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, February 1899|Various
One old man being asked why he liked the vicar, made answer as follows: "Why, 'cos he be so scratchy after souls."
A Cotswold Village|J. Arthur Gibbs
We stood there in friendly silence, while the feeble minstrel sheltered in Antonia's hair went on with its scratchy chirp.
My Antonia|Willa Cather