scratchy

American  

[skrach-ee] / ˈskrætʃ i /

adjective

scratchier, scratchiest

1. causing or liable to cause a slight grating noise.

   a scratchy record.

2. consisting of or marked by scratches: scratches.

   a scratchy drawing.

3. uneven; haphazard.

   He plays a scratchy game.

4. causing itching or other minor irritation of the skin.

   a scratchy woolen sweater.

5. causing or liable to cause a scratch or scratches: scratches.

   scratchy bushes.

6. Chiefly British Slang. peevish; spiteful.

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Other Word Forms

• scratchily adverb
• scratchiness noun

Etymology

Origin of scratchy

First recorded in 1700–10; scratch + -y ¹

Example Sentences

The skirt of my dress itches my thighs, and I run my sweaty palms over the scratchy tulle, focusing on the tiny nets in the fabric.

From Literature

There were scratchy clouds far down in the west, but it would be a fine day.

From Literature

My eyelids felt scratchy but my brain was still going about a thousand miles an hour, and I knew that sleeping wasn’t in the cards for the night.

From Literature

After a long night tossing on scratchy straw bedding, the group disembarked a few hundred miles away at Newark, New York.

From Literature

It wasn’t a scratchy itch that could be relieved with a paw.

From Literature

Related Words

• cracked
• discordant
• hoarse
• raspy
• raucous