🤔 Suspicious 🐟 Like fish

fishy

50 4.4

Seeming dishonest and making people feel suspicious

adjective
/ˈfɪʃi/

: sospechoso

All the same, this seems rather fishy to me.

They were being very fishy to say the least.

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Examples

His explanation seemed fishy, and I doubted his honesty.
Sir, there is something really fishy about these people.

Sanitation Day (2021)
Something fishy is going on and I know it.
Now that looks like Congress thinks something fishy is going on between Trump and Russia.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Is it me or is there something fishy in here?
I think there is something there something fishy in this.
I knew there was something fishy about you.

Abraham And Lincoln (2007)
After three hours, I began to think things looked a little bit fishy, so I went inside.

23 Paces to Baker Street (1956)
Gave the guy a big reward, then she started to think there was something fishy about it.

Seven Psychopaths (2012)
There's something fishy going on here.

The Front Page (1974)

Synonyms

funny

vsfishy

687 4.1

Strange in a way that makes you think something is wrong

is more about suspicion or potential dishonesty rather than mere strangeness

suspicious

vsfishy

300 2.7

Causing doubt because it seems wrong or illegal

is milder and often signals oddness rather than proven wrongdoing

dishonest

vsfishy

128 2.5

Likely to lie or cheat to get something for yourself

can be less direct, signalling doubt or unexpectedness rather than proven lying

suspect

vsfishy

98 5.3

Seen as probably dishonest or not trustworthy

is vaguer, often meaning merely odd or unexpected rather than definite doubt

shady

vsfishy

Informal

79 5.5

Not honest and likely to do illegal things

is less severe, often pointing to oddness rather than clear criminal link

disingenuous

vsfishy

66 7.8

Pretending to be honest by hiding what you know

can be more about general oddness than deliberate false appearance

deceptive

vsfishy

62 5.3

Appearing true but making someone believe something that is not true

is usually about seeming doubtful or odd without clear intent to mislead

devious

vsfishy

51 6.4

Acting in a dishonest or tricky way to get what you want

is softer, often referring to something simply seeming off or doubtful

sketchy

vsfishy

Informal

25 7.6

Appearing unsafe or not to be trusted

is more neutral and can mean simply odd or unexpected without danger

shifty

vsfishy

17 7.4

A look or behavior that seems dishonest and hard to trust

is broader, possibly just odd or not as expected without clear deceit

hinky

vsfishy

Slang

15 9.9

Seeming strange and not trustworthy

is broader, covering both mild oddness and stronger doubts

dodgy

vsfishy

3 8.8

Clever in a dishonest way to trick people

is more about general suspicion or oddness, not active tricking

a bit sketchy

vsfishy

Informal

1 8.6

A little suspicious and not easy to trust

is stronger, indicating clearer suspicion or notable oddness

Antonyms

honest

∞ 1.0

Truthful and fair, not cheating or lying

trustworthy

88 2.1

A person or thing you can depend on to be honest

Idioms

to smell fishy

Informal

2 6.8

To seem suspicious or dishonest

to sound fishy

Informal

1 7.0

To seem not honest or real

Compounds

fishy smell

2 2.6

A strong unpleasant smell like fish

How Suspicious

shady

Informal

79 5.5

suspicious

300 2.7

fishy

50 4.4

questionable

176 3.9

odd

798 1.0

Surface Forms

fishy positive

fishier comparative

fishiest superlative

Morphology

fishy = fish (opaque) = fish + y

The adjective 'fishy' meaning 'suspicious' cannot be reliably derived from the literal sense of 'fish' by an average learner; the sense has shifted.

Etymology

Fishy comes from the simple parts fish and -y, meaning 'like fish'. A helpful way to remember the 'arousing suspicion' sense is that people say something 'smells fishy' when it feels off or dishonest, so the word came to mean 'suspicious'.