sketchy

[skech-ee]

See more synonyms for sketchy on Thesaurus.com

adjective, sketch·i·er, sketch·i·est.

like a sketch; giving only outlines or essentials.
imperfect, incomplete, slight, or superficial: a sketchy meal.
Informal.
1. unreliable or unsafe: That street looks pretty sketchy.
2. disreputable or shady: I'd stay away from him; he's got a sketchy past.

Origin of sketchy

First recorded in 1795–1805; sketch + -y¹

Related formssketch·i·ly, adverbsketch·i·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for sketchy

Contemporary Examples

And it is conjecture, based on the sketchy bits of evidence we possess.
Is Brooklyn Becoming Unsafe for Gays? It Depends On Which Ones
Jay Michaelson
October 18, 2014
And former senior Obama adviser David Axelrod dismissed it as “sketchy.”
Rick Perry's PAC Pulls a 'Free Winona'
Olivia Nuzzi
August 22, 2014
While reports are sketchy, there were likely tens of thousands of Iraqi security forces of all types in and around Mosul.
Iraq Is Vietnam 2.0 And U.S. Drones Won’t Solve The Problem
Leslie H. Gelb
June 12, 2014
The image, with all of its sketchy lines and minimal color palette, had to be rendered in a matter of seconds.
O.J., Martha, Jagger, and Manson: Capturing Celebrities in the Dock
Justin Jones
May 29, 2014
While driving, listening to the first sketchy news reports, hot tears were streaming down my face.
Frazier Glenn Miller Would Kill Every Jew Like Me
Hampton Stevens
April 14, 2014

Historical Examples

I can't swear to any of these things; they're sketchy impressions.
Her Father's Daughter
Gene Stratton-Porter
The sketchy nephew hinted that he might have fallen off a bridge.
Life And Adventures Of Martin Chuzzlewit
Charles Dickens
It is a phrase that recurs at intervals in his sketchy "Confessions."
Scaramouche
Rafael Sabatini
He could just write a kind of sketchy hand, and didn't care for writing at all.
Youth
Joseph Conrad
She is too young to endure it, sobbed the by-product to her of the sketchy face.
Iole
Robert W. Chambers

British Dictionary definitions for sketchy

sketchy

adjective sketchier or sketchiest

characteristic of a sketch; existing only in outline
superficial or slight
informal uncertain or unreliable

Derived Formssketchily, adverbsketchiness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for sketchy

adj.

1805, "having the form or character of a sketch," from sketch (n.) + -y (1). Colloquial sense of "unsubstantial, imperfect, flimsy" is from 1878, perhaps via the notion of "unfinished." Related: Sketchily; sketchiness.

sketchy

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Related Words

Examples from the Web for sketchy

Contemporary Examples

And it is conjecture, based on the sketchy bits of evidence we possess.

And former senior Obama adviser David Axelrod dismissed it as “sketchy.”

While reports are sketchy, there were likely tens of thousands of Iraqi security forces of all types in and around Mosul.

The image, with all of its sketchy lines and minimal color palette, had to be rendered in a matter of seconds.

While driving, listening to the first sketchy news reports, hot tears were streaming down my face.

Historical Examples

I can't swear to any of these things; they're sketchy impressions.

The sketchy nephew hinted that he might have fallen off a bridge.

It is a phrase that recurs at intervals in his sketchy "Confessions."

He could just write a kind of sketchy hand, and didn't care for writing at all.

She is too young to endure it, sobbed the by-product to her of the sketchy face.

sketchy

Word Origin and History for sketchy

adj.

Origin of sketchy