sketchy

[skech-ee]

adjective

sketchier, sketchiest 

1. like a sketch; giving only outlines or essentials.

   Synonyms: crude, meager, rough, cursory

2. imperfect, incomplete, slight, or superficial.

   a sketchy meal.

3. 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.

sketchy

/ ˈskɛtʃɪ /

adjective

1. characteristic of a sketch; existing only in outline

2. superficial or slight

3. informal,  uncertain or unreliable

Other Word Forms

• sketchily adverb
• sketchiness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of sketchy¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; sketch + -y ¹

Example Sentences

“Things are a little sketchy, economically, so I definitely think people will turn to secondhand.”

Read more on MarketWatch

“As athletes, we know if something is sketchy or not,” Gkolomeev says.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Shelley would have seen headlines about dug-up graves and sketchy doctors in the years before she put pen to paper.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In her freshman year, Chan went to a frat party with a friend who was worried that a boy she’d developed a crush on might be sketchy.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Or, given the organization’s recent sketchy history, it is entirely possible it could go the Typical Lakers Implosion Way.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• cursory 
• faulty 
• inadequate 
• insufficient 
• perfunctory 
• preliminary 
• skimpy 
• superficial 
• vague