scratchy
[skrach-ee]
- 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.
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Origin of scratchy
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for scratchy
Contemporary Examples
Cochran had come down with some nasty throat bug and his voice was low and scratchy, but that only made it better.
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
Once again, Pharoah hammers down every screechy, scratchy vocal tic while doing a Rock-sian riff on Romeo and Juliet.
Last year, she had a chance to meet Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma, 16 years after seeing that scratchy video in Beijing.
The rebels said so, in their scratchy broadcasts from across the border.
Historical Examples
Though the voice was thin and scratchy, the words were clearly audible.
Planet of the DamnedHarry Harrison
It was a recording, scratchy, and full of unthinkable distance.
The Planet StrappersRaymond Zinke Gallun
Scratchy Wilson's drunk, and has turned loose with both hands.
The Open Boat and Other StoriesStephen Crane
He was precisely the shepherd for the foreground of a scratchy etching.
Italian HoursHenry James
The Vicarage was well enough in its way, but fussy and niggly and scratchy.
The Tower of OblivionOliver Onions
Word Origin and History for scratchy
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper