- 1粗略的、不夠詳盡的；年輕人口語也指「可疑、感覺不對勁」
If a report, a plan, or a story is sketchy, it is only a rough outline. Too few details sit there for the thing to be useful yet. Sketchy notes from class; a sketchy map with three roads and no names; a sketchy account of what happened. The picture behind the word is a sketch: a drawing that is not finished. This sense is ordinary and a little informal, fine in school and in the news, and it is not rude. Though actually, younger speakers, especially in American English, have stretched it a long way. “That place is sketchy” or “he seems sketchy” means the person or place does not feel safe or honest — as if you cannot see enough to trust it. Some older speakers still hear only “unfinished.” If you are writing a careful essay, keep to the “not enough detail” sense unless you mean the slang on purpose.
From the word’s history
From sketch + -y, extending the notion 'brief, unfinished'.
sketch（草圖）加 -y，由「粗略、未完成」引申為「可疑」。
組成From sketch + -y. It first meant like a sketch: brief, imperfect, not finished. The “not enough detail” sense grows straight out of that.
原始詞典資料7 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，摘錄並精簡格式，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
sketchyadj/ˈskɛt͡ʃi/
- 1
Roughly or hastily laid out; intended for later refinement.
- The first draft included a sketchy design.
- 2
Not thorough or detailed.
- Bond had just finished his sketchy summing-up of the players when Le Chiffre, with the silence and economy of movement of a big fish, came through the opening in the brass rail and, with a cold smile of welcome for the table, took his place directly opposite Bond in the banker's chair.
- This is still in the design stage, so details are sketchy.
- 3
Resembling a comedy sketch, of sketch quality.
- 4
slangOf questionable or doubtful quality.
- The sketchy repair job did not look like it would hold.
- 5
slangSuspected of taking part in illicit or dishonorable dealings.
- Because he is so sketchy, I always think that he is up to something.
- The downside of working with sketchy dudes on building sites and in greasy spoons was that they were sketchy, but they also knew shady things.
- 6
slangDisturbing or unnerving, often in such a way that others may suspect them of intending physical or sexual harm or harassment.
- Jack is so sketchy. I think he's stalking me.
- 7
slangDisturbing, or indicating possible danger.
- "We were a bit nervous about it, seeing heaps of surfers out there on the breaks," he said. "There were some nice breaks, but it looked pretty sketchy with the sharks, so yeah, we just tried to stay away from that beach."
摘錄自 英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary，已精簡格式；依 CC BY-SA 4.0 授權使用，改動後的內容同樣以此授權提供。