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sketchy

[ skech-ee ]
/ ˈskɛtʃ i /
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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.
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Origin of sketchy

First recorded in 1795–1805; sketch + -y1

OTHER WORDS FROM sketchy

sketch·i·ly, adverbsketch·i·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use sketchy in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for sketchy

sketchy
/ (ˈskɛtʃɪ) /

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

Derived forms of sketchy

sketchily, 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
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