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The Varied Meanings of Sketchy
A sketch is a rough drawing usually done as an initial draft in contrast to a finished work. The word sketch suggests imperfection and a lack of refinement. It comes from the Dutch word schets and ultimately from the Italian verb schizzare, an imitative verb meaning "to splash."
Unsurprisingly, the adjective sketchy originally described something relating to or resembling a sketch, as in "a sketchy portrait." But because sketches are by nature rough and ill-defined, sketchy soon came to mean "wanting in completeness, clearness, or substance," as in "a sketchy understanding" or "sketchy details."
What lacks completeness, clearness, or substance is also subject to doubt or challenge, and sketchy went on to develop uses applying to what is questionable or iffy, either for physically obvious qualities or for something less tangible. In sports we see this sense of sketchy applied to a track or surface that is poorly maintained, as in "a sketchy track," and in broader use it is applied to streets and neighborhoods that can also be described as seedy, as in "a sketchy part of town."
The adjective has more recently extended in use to describe someone who creates an impression of unsavoriness, or something that comes from an untrustworthy source or is itself untrustworthy, as in "a sketchy dude" or "a scheme that sounds sketchy."
Examples of sketchy in a Sentence
Michelle Lee, Peoplemag, 9 Apr. 2024
Some formulas in this niche sector of the supplement industry make use of sketchy sales tactics to market ineffective products.
—Andrew Price, Discover Magazine, 3 Apr. 2024
After two sketchy hires and a string of management mistakes, the Cardinal made a shrewd move Monday and charged Kyle Smith with resuscitating its dormant men’s basketball program following the dismissal of Jerod Haase.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 25 Mar. 2024
For complicated educational, economic and union-rules reasons, there already were too few nurses in California, a problem that has persisted for decades, well before the deadly virus spread and the price of a tiny cottage in a formerly sketchy neighborhood soared into the seven figures.
—The Editorial Board, Orange County Register, 23 Mar. 2024
But sketchy photo releases of Kate didn’t stop there.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2024
Trending The filmmakers conjure the uneasiness of long drives down foggy roads to meet sketchy sources who might provide more questions than answers.
—Chris Vognar, Rolling Stone, 28 Feb. 2024
And while the real tale ended up being a bit sketchy, at least Bullock's performance holds up.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 4 Mar. 2024
That spectacle is led with Scott Evan Guggenheim’s deft direction of his talented cast, with Ric Iverson’s turn as Springer achieving a nice balance of the television host’s befuddlement and sketchy inquiry of his oddball guests.
—David John Chávez, The Mercury News, 29 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sketchy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
1805, in the meaning defined at sense 1
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Cite this Entry
“Sketchy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sketchy. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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More from Merriam-Webster on sketchy
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for sketchy
Nglish: Translation of sketchy for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of sketchy for Arabic Speakers
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