1
as in difficult
requiring exceptional skill or caution in performance or handling
getting the trade unions to go along with the agreement will be a rather dodgy piece of work
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cunning
clever at attaining one's ends by indirect and often deceptive means
needed a dodgy barrister to get him acquitted of the charge
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in questionable
giving good reason for being doubted, questioned, or challenged
the authenticity of the "lost" Shakespearean sonnet was more than a little dodgy
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dodgy
A lot of it winds up just financing dodgy consumer debt.
—
Tax Notes Staff, Forbes, 8 Oct. 2024
There are all these dodgy TV shows and terrible films, but no one has really looked at it.
—Marta Balaga, Variety, 7 Oct. 2024
Today, the Trump administration, aided by Elon Musk’s dodgy DOGE operation, is embarking on an anti-New Deal by slashing thousands of federal jobs and shrinking the government to the size of something Grover Norquist could drown in a bathtub.
—Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2025
The plan is to go clubbing, and right away things start to feel dodgy.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dodgy
Tax Notes Staff, Forbes, 8 Oct. 2024
There are all these dodgy TV shows and terrible films, but no one has really looked at it.
—Marta Balaga, Variety, 7 Oct. 2024
Today, the Trump administration, aided by Elon Musk’s dodgy DOGE operation, is embarking on an anti-New Deal by slashing thousands of federal jobs and shrinking the government to the size of something Grover Norquist could drown in a bathtub.
—Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2025
The plan is to go clubbing, and right away things start to feel dodgy.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dodgy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dodgy
Adjective
-
Rust, a difficult movie to release, grossed $25k at 115 theaters, presented by Falling Forward Films.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
4 May 2025
-
Clematis wilt is a fungal infection that is difficult to treat.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
3 May 2025
Adjective
-
In real life, most would-be Proud Boys don’t have cunning, progressive housemates who will throw away their gun parts.—
Amy Weiss-Meyer,
The Atlantic,
8 May 2025
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Premiering in January 2023, The Traitors has gone on to widespread acclaim, even winning Emmys for Outstanding Reality Competition Program and Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality Competition Program (Alan Cumming on cunning form).—
Griff Griffin,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 May 2025
Adjective
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The deportation of Venezuelan men to a hellish mega-prison in El Salvador, on the questionable suspicion of gang affiliations, based on the presence of tattoos: flowers, a soccer logo, an autism-awareness ribbon.—
Jia Tolentino,
New Yorker,
3 May 2025
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Or couldn’t, thanks in part to questionable player usage by coach Jim Hiller.—
Eric Stephens,
New York Times,
3 May 2025
Adjective
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Federal judges have so far been skeptical of the Trump administration’s past efforts to use extraordinary powers to make deportations easier, and that could make suspending habeas corpus even tougher.—
Will Weissert,
Chicago Tribune,
10 May 2025
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Last year’s drought conditions that extended into late fall combined with very windy winter conditions and frozen soils were tough for some evergreens.—
Pamm Cooper,
Hartford Courant,
10 May 2025
Adjective
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At a press screening of the film in March, these cute, interstitial clips drew big laughs.—
Eric Renner Brown,
Billboard,
7 May 2025
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Wine corks also make cute place card holders and wine glass charms.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
7 May 2025
Adjective
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Mary’s fixation on commemorating James’ dubious talents.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
2 May 2025
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Together, these studies indicate that boys may be especially sensitive to the quality of early caregiving—an argument to both increase social support for families and resist dubious assumptions that boys do not require substantial affectionate nurturing.—
Joshua Coleman,
The Atlantic,
30 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The Trump administration – with Musk and his aides as the tip of the spear – have roiled the federal government with mass layoffs and demands for access to sensitive information at agencies including the Social Security Administration and the National Labor Relations Board.—
Cybele Mayes-Osterman,
USA Today,
3 May 2025
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Washington — The Trump administration on Friday asked the Supreme Court to let the White House's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, have access to the sensitive information kept by the Social Security Administration.—
Melissa Quinn,
CBS News,
2 May 2025
Adjective
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The Act provides market players and investors additional mechanisms and avenues to seek redress and curb fraudulent digital asset activities.—
Abubakar Nur Khalil,
Forbes.com,
1 May 2025
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Back in the mid-1990s, when The Net was among the top box office draws and Americans were just starting to flock online in droves, kids had to swipe their parents' credit cards or find a fraudulent number online to access adult content on the web.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
30 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dodgy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dodgy. Accessed 17 May. 2025.
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