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📝 Not complete 🚨 Suspicious or unsafe
sketchy

sketchy

25 7.6
Appearing unsafe or not to be trusted
  • adjective
  • /ˈskɛtʃi/
  • Informal
translation icon : sospechoso
  • So this one looks sketchy, like real sketchy.

She's so shady and sketchy and I don't like her.

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Examples

  • The job offer seemed sketchy because they wanted payment upfront for training.

  • Another woman was selected first, but was scrapped because she had a sketchy past.

    Blog text (20)

  • So this is the thing Trump thought was too sketchy to put his name on.

    The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

  • I agree this whole situation has seemed sketchy from the very beginning.

    Blog text (10)

  • Every person who has ever married someone with a sketchy reputation has said the same thing.

    Blog text (7)

  • You have no idea how sketchy and scary this is.

  • That's a very sketchy looking bridge.

  • Dude, you're acting, like, really sketchy right now.

    Halloween (2018)

  • It's, well, yeah, I mean, I've had a few really sketchy apartments in New York.

  • It's right behind those rocks, and it's the deepest, sketchiest spot in the river.

Synonyms

shady
vssketchy
  • Informal
79 5.5

Not honest and likely to do illegal things

is less about deliberate wrongdoing and more about general unreliability
fishy
vssketchy
50 4.4

Seeming dishonest and making people feel suspicious

is wider, also implying potential danger or general unreliability
slimy
vssketchy
  • Offensive
47 6.5

A person who is dishonest and unpleasant, so others do not trust them

is milder and can mean unsafe or unreliable without moral repulsion
seedy
vssketchy
  • Informal
26 6.1

Looking dirty and run down and often linked to crime

centres on feeling unsafe or distrustful rather than physical neglect
hinky
vssketchy
  • Slang
15 9.9

Seeming strange and not trustworthy

is broader, also meaning generally unsafe or untrustworthy rather than just odd
dodgy
vssketchy
  • UK
13 8.2

Likely to be unsafe or untrustworthy

focuses more on causing unease and distrust than on risk alone
skeevy
vssketchy
  • Offensive
3 9.9

A person or place that seems dirty and makes you feel uneasy

is broader, not limited to sleaziness but to overall suspiciousness
skeezy
vssketchy
  • Offensive
2 9.9

Looks dishonest, dirty, or unsafe to be around

is more general, covering unease or unreliability beyond sleazy behaviour
a bit sketchy
vssketchy
  • Informal
1 8.6

A little suspicious and not easy to trust

is more strongly unsettling and clearly causes distrust

Antonyms

safe
∞ 1.0

Not likely to be harmed or in danger

trustworthy
88 2.1

A person or thing you can depend on to be honest

Idioms

a bit sketchy
  • Informal
1 8.6

A little suspicious and not easy to trust

How Suspicious

shady
  • Informal
79 5.5
sketchy
  • Informal
25 7.6
questionable
176 3.9
odd
798 1.0

Surface Forms

sketchy positive

Morphology

sketchy = sketch (semi-transparent) = sketch + y

The 'suspicious/unsafe' sense is a colloquial metaphorical extension from 'sketchy' = 'incomplete/rough', so the morphological relation is clear but the semantic shift is not fully predictable.

Etymology

Sketchy also came to mean 'suspicious' in informal speech. A helpful way to remember this is to think of a place or story that is only a sketch, not complete or clear, so it feels risky and untrustworthy.