scratchier; scratchiest
1
: marked or made with scratches
scratchy drawing
scratchy handwriting
3
: making a scratching noise
4
: uneven in quality : ragged
5
: causing tingling or itching : irritating
scratchy wool
6
: somewhat inflamed and sore
a scratchy throat
Examples of scratchy in a Sentence
listening to scratchy old records
The costume is made from scratchy material.
He is sick with a scratchy throat.
Recent Examples on the Web
Using too much detergent leaves soapy residue in fabrics, trapping dirt, bacteria, and hard water minerals, which leaves clothes looking dull, feeling stiff and scratchy, and smelling bad.
—
Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 8 Aug. 2025
The effects can be felt right away, says the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), with symptoms including a scratchy throat, coughing, trouble breathing, and chest pain.
—Rebecca Schneid, Time, 2 Aug. 2025
Digital techniques could clean up the scratchy sound of great performances from the nineteen-twenties and thirties, putting record companies sometimes in competition with their own backlists.
—David Denby, New Yorker, 20 July 2025
His baritone voice is scratchy from doing double duty: working and partying.
—Essence, 10 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for scratchy
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Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 8 Aug. 2025
The effects can be felt right away, says the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), with symptoms including a scratchy throat, coughing, trouble breathing, and chest pain.
—Rebecca Schneid, Time, 2 Aug. 2025
Digital techniques could clean up the scratchy sound of great performances from the nineteen-twenties and thirties, putting record companies sometimes in competition with their own backlists.
—David Denby, New Yorker, 20 July 2025
His baritone voice is scratchy from doing double duty: working and partying.
—Essence, 10 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for scratchy
Cite this Entry
“Scratchy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scratchy. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
scratchy
adjective
scratchier; scratchiest
1
: likely to scratch or make sore or raw : prickly
scratchy woolens
2
: making a scratching noise
3
: marked or made with scratches
a scratchy surface
scratchy handwriting
4
: uneven in quality : ragged
played a scratchy game of golf
5
: somewhat sore
a scratchy throat
scratchiness
noun
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