sketchy
Americanadjective
-
sketchier,
comparative
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sketchiest
superlative
adjective
-
characteristic of a sketch; existing only in outline
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superficial or slight
-
informal uncertain or unreliable
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of sketchy
Explanation
Something sketchy is incomplete: it includes the major points but lacks detail. If a political candidate avoids going into detail about her political views, you might say her platform is sketchy. A sketch is a quick drawing that doesn't have a lot of detail. That definition should help you remember that sketchy things are incomplete. A sketchy speech from the President will outline some important ideas but be short on specifics. A sketchy plan for the weekend would be "Let's go out to eat." That's sketchy because it has the general idea but no specifics, such as the time or place.
Vocabulary lists containing sketchy
Whirligig
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Down and Across
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The Boys Who Challenged Hitler
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
From Mr. Van Raan’s sketchy paper—a mere six pages—Mr. Byrne has spun a more expansive consideration of its theme, “Sleeping Beauties: Why Good Ideas Go Dormant and Why They Wake Up.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
The great Barry Corbin, of “Northern Exposure” and “The Closer,” shows up as a sketchy character Woody’s incarcerated father owes money to.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
Another pet peeve for many are sketchy cycling lanes in a city where 18 percent of all trips are made by bike.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
Details of Tuesday's arrest remain sketchy, but police confirmed operatives from its Force Intelligence Department and Intelligence Response Team were involved.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Slowly they had built up the sketchy maps and notes now stacked in front of Hermione.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
Southern California’s most dangerous surf spot, the Wedge, has become even sketchier in recent months.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
With help from Morricone, whose interviews anchor the documentary, Tornatore ably fills in the composer’s family history, though the details become sketchier as the musician’s fame steadily grows.
From New York Times ● Feb. 8, 2024
He has stayed here even as this stretch of Lankershim Boulevard became sketchier, even as the COVID-19 pandemic forced him to lay off all his employees.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2023
Omicron’s impact is difficult to gauge in other parts of the world, where data are often sketchier.
From Science Magazine ● Jan. 25, 2022
I told Annabeth and Grover about my latest dream, but the details got sketchier the more I tried to remember them.
From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan
He messaged Lutz about his experiences: “It was definitely the sketchiest thing I have ever had to do.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 25, 2026
Huge sums of money are now available for the sketchiest of projects, from "blue hydrogen" to the sea-bed mining of rare-earth minerals.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2021
“The majority gives only the sketchiest of reasons for reversing Teague’s watershed exception,” Kagan wrote.
From Slate ● May 17, 2021
Over two recording sessions for Columbia Records in early 1959, Davis would hand out the sketchiest of outlines for the music and leave the rest to extemporization.
From Washington Post ● May 25, 2020
Thus, although we rose before 6 P.M. on December 16, the start was not made until 8.30 P.M., notwithstanding the fact that the meal was of the "sketchiest" character.
From The Home of the Blizzard Being the Story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914 by Sir Douglas Mawson
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
