spotty

adjective

ˈspä-tē How to pronounce spotty (audio)
Definition of spottynext
1
as in sporadic
lacking in steadiness or regularity of occurrence only spotty business failures marred the economic boom

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dotted
marked with spots Dalmatians are spotty dogs

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of spotty Any leftover spotty shower threat is fading quickly, and the afternoon and evening look dry. — Kate Bilo, CBS News, 18 Sep. 2026 Gill’s team was doing field work in western Alaska and had only spotty internet service; the team would gather around a laptop, waiting for the updates on E7’s location to come through. — Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026 The leaves often have spotty color in fall, resulting in an interesting array of green, yellow, red, and burgundy—sometimes all on one leaf. — Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 12 Sep. 2026 As the wreckage of the World Trade Center continued to burn, cell phone and land-line service was spotty for days and weeks. — Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 11 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for spotty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spotty
  1. sporadic
  2. dotted
  3. intermittent
  4. colored
  5. occasional
  6. erratic
Adjective
  • Foreigners have also experienced sporadic outbursts of xenophobic violence.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Others look further back to early and sporadic insurgent activity in 1964, before the UDI, or to 1965, the year of the UDI (November 11) itself.
    — Chinatsu Tsuji, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of sporadic
Adjective
  • To reduce confusion, the top plate has a dotted pattern around each key position that can accept a magnetic switch.
    — Francisco Lahoz, PC Magazine, 12 Sep. 2026
  • The black dotted forecast line shows the multi-model median whereas the surrounding range shows the 25th–75th percentiles.
    — Deena Zaidi, CNBC, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of dotted
Adjective
  • Those talks collapsed and the two sides have continued to trade intermittent attacks.
    — Dan Lamothe, Washington Post, 1 Oct. 2026
  • While Linton has not been diagnosed with an underlying seizure disorder, such as epilepsy, defense attorney Jovan Blacknell said Linton suffered intermittent seizures during her life, including at the time of the wreck.
    — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of intermittent
Adjective
  • The viewpoint looks across Windermere and was once fitted with colored glass designed to make the scenery appear as though it were being viewed in different seasons.
    — Alessia Armenise, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Mailaender used different types of mirrors, geometric wall patterns, colored cork and linoleum, wavy steel and deliberately 1980s-style locker-room doors.
    — Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of colored
Adjective
  • The significance of the work goes beyond eliminating the occasional frustrating chatbot conversation.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 4 Oct. 2026
  • An occasional bird would chirp in the distance, but the forest emanated an eerie stillness, said Young, a research ecologist at the University of California, Davis.
    — Taylor Romine, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of occasional
Adjective
  • Cage has answered with the impulsive, erratic, and frenzied style now allegorized in Spider-Noir as Reilly’s inner monster.
    — Harmon Siegel, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
  • As his erratic behavior continued, police began to suspect that Randolph had hired Miller to kill Causse, but double crossed him to avoid payment.
    — CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of erratic

Browse Nearby Words

spotting
spotty
spousal
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Cite this Entry

“Spotty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spotty. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

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