scratchy

[skrach-ee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR scratchy ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, scratch·i·er, scratch·i·est.

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.

Origin of scratchy

First recorded in 1700–10; scratch + -y¹

Related formsscratch·i·ly, adverbscratch·i·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for scratchy

Contemporary Examples of scratchy

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
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.
Barack Obama and Jay Pharoah’s 7 Best Celebrity Impressions (VIDEO)
Kevin Fallon
September 14, 2012
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
The rebels said so, in their scratchy broadcasts from across the border.
Vanished in Uganda
Andrew Rice
June 5, 2009

Historical Examples of scratchy

Though the voice was thin and scratchy, the words were clearly audible.
Planet of the Damned
Harry Harrison
It was a recording, scratchy, and full of unthinkable distance.
The Planet Strappers
Raymond Zinke Gallun
Scratchy Wilson's drunk, and has turned loose with both hands.
The Open Boat and Other Stories
Stephen Crane
He was precisely the shepherd for the foreground of a scratchy etching.
Italian Hours
Henry James
The Vicarage was well enough in its way, but fussy and niggly and scratchy.
The Tower of Oblivion
Oliver Onions

Word Origin and History for scratchy

adj.

1710, "affected with 'the scratch,'" a skin disease, from scratch (n.1) + -y (2). Meaning "composed of scratches" is from 1827; that of "grating" is from 1866. Of sounds (especially in reproduction) from 1889. Related: Scratchiness.