iffy

English

Etymology

From if +‎ -y.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɪfi/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪfi

Adjective

iffy (comparative iffier, superlative iffiest)

1. (slang) Of dubious authenticity, legitimacy or legality.

   Synonyms: dodgy, dubious, fishy; see also Thesaurus:iffy

   He's selling new CD players for £20 each – that sounds a bit iffy to me.

2. Uncertain or chancy; risky.

   The weather is still iffy for Saturday's rocket launch.

   That potato salad smells a bit iffy. Don't chance it — it's not worth salmonellosis.

   • 2020, N. K. Jemisin, The City We Became, Orbit, page 416:

     “He’s underground, anyway, so reception would be iffy.”

   • 2011, Terry Pratchett, Snuff, Doubleday, page 60:

     "Definitely something iffy, that's for sure.”

Derived terms

• iffily
• iffiness

Translations

Of dubious authenticity, legitimacy or legality

• Czech: pochybný (cs), podezřelý (cs)
• Finnish: epäilyttävä (fi)
• French: louche (fr)
• Georgian: სათუო (satuo)
• German: dubios (de), zweifelhaft (de)
• Italian: sospetto (it)
• Latin: dubius m
• Portuguese: suspeito (pt) m, dúbio (pt), questionável
• Romanian: dubios (ro)
• Russian: сомни́тельный (ru) (somnítelʹnyj), подозри́тельный (ru) (podozrítelʹnyj)
• Slovak: neistý
• Swedish: skum (sv)

Anagrams

• FYFI, yiff