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

• sketchiness noun
• sketchily adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of sketchy¹

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

Example Sentences

Run for and by women who have fallen on hard times, the program is simple but sketchy.

From Los Angeles Times

Maybe going on a sketchy shark swim isn’t as common as simply taking a swim in the ocean.

From Salon

Stay away from the sketchy posts that seem like scams.

From Los Angeles Times

“The only concern for me was just not wanting it to come too broad or sketchy. You have to find that balance of playing the comedy while also being believable,” he says about playing Hamilton.

From Los Angeles Times

Nina is an OB-GYN with a stellar reputation at the hospital where she works — and a sketchier one outside of it, where it’s an open secret that Nina performs abortions on the side.

From Salon

Related Words

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