sketchy

English

Etymology

From sketch +‎ -y.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈskɛt͡ʃi/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛtʃi

Adjective

sketchy (comparative sketchier, superlative sketchiest)

1. Roughly or hastily laid out; intended for later refinement.

   The first draft included a sketchy design.

2. Not thorough or detailed.
   • 2021 August 11, Paul Bigland, “Where HS2 will meet EWR”, in RAIL, number 937, page 39:

     This is still in the design stage, so details are sketchy.

   • 2024 January 13, Boyd Tonkin, “The culture of copyright creep”, in FT Weekend, Life & Arts, page 9:

     Bellos and Montagu offer a few sketchy alternatives, such as shorter post mortem protections or a curb on corporate rights capture, and call for a “broad debate” on copyright's future.

3. Resembling a comedy sketch, of sketch quality. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
4. (Canada, US, slang) Of questionable or doubtful quality.

   The sketchy repair job did not look like it would hold.

5. (Canada, US, slang, of a person) Suspected of taking part in illicit or dishonorable dealings.

   Because he is so sketchy, I always think that he is up to something.

   • 2019, Colson Whitehead, The Nickel Boys, Fleet, page 201:

     The downside of working with sketchy dudes on building sites and in greasy spoons was that they were sketchy, but they also knew shady things.

6. (Canada, US, slang, of a person) Disturbing or unnerving, often in such a way that others may suspect them of intending physical or sexual harm or harassment.

   Jack is so sketchy. I think he's stalking me.

7. (Australia, slang, of a situation) Disturbing, or indicating possible danger.
   • 2025 January 4, “Surfing community again in mourning after latest shark attack on SA coast”, in ABC News (Australia)‎^[1]:

     "We were a bit nervous about it, seeing heaps of surfers out there on the breaks," he said. "There were some nice breaks, but it looked pretty sketchy with the sharks, so yeah, we just tried to stay away from that beach."

Synonyms

The terms below need to be checked and allocated to the definitions (senses) of the headword above. Each term should appear in the sense for which it is appropriate. For synonyms and antonyms you may use the templates {{syn|en|...}} or {{ant|en|...}}.

• dicey
• dodgy
• dubious
• seedy
• shady

Related terms

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *seǵʰ- (0 c, 40 e)

Translations

Roughly or hastily laid out; intended for later refinement

• Bulgarian: бегъл (bg) (begǎl), повърхностен (bg) (povǎrhnosten)
• Finnish: summittainen (fi), luonnosmainen
• French: sommaire (fr), incomplet (fr), partiel (fr), superficiel (fr)
• German: skizzenhaft (de), flüchtig hingeworfen
• Italian: abbozzato (it), delineato (it), schizzato (it), sommario (it)
• Macedonian: по́вршен (póvršen)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: skisseaktig

  Nynorsk: skisseaktig

• Swedish: skissartad (sv), hastig (sv)

Of questionable or doubtful quality

• Finnish: huonomaineinen, huonokuntoinen (fi)
• French: louche (fr), glauque (fr), chelou (fr) (Slang)
• German: zusammengefrickelt, zurechtgefrickelt, zweifelhaft (de), fragwürdig (de)
• Hungarian: fércmunka (hu)
• Macedonian: сомни́телен (somnítelen)
• Norwegian: tvilsom
• Russian: сомни́тельный (ru) (somnítelʹnyj)
• Spanish: dudoso (es)
• Swedish: tveksam (sv), tvivelaktig (sv), dubiös (sv)

Suspected of taking part in illicit or dishonorable dealings

• Bulgarian: съмнителен (bg) (sǎmnitelen)
• Finnish: epäilyttävä (fi)
• German: zwielichtig (de), nicht richtig vertrauenswürdig, suspekt (de)
• Macedonian: сомни́телен (somnítelen), подозри́телен (podozrítelen)
• Portuguese: escuso (pt), suspeito (pt)
• Russian: подозри́тельный (ru) m (podozrítelʹnyj), му́тный (ru) m (mútnyj)
• Swedish: skum (sv), suspekt (sv)

See also

• skeezy