patchy

Definition of patchynext

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 patchy Sunday showers followed by a shot of chilly weather early next week may bring the region patchy areas of frost. Steven Sosna, CBS News, 17 Apr. 2026 They're exposed to the elements, heavy footsteps, and potential pests all year—and one of the biggest culprits behind a patchy or bare lawn is compaction. Nishaa Sharma, The Spruce, 17 Apr. 2026 Wednesday will start with patchy fog before sunshine takes over. Garfield Hylton, The Orlando Sentinel, 15 Apr. 2026 You’ll be left with patchy, inconsistent grass. Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 14 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for patchy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for patchy
Adjective
  • Longtime Oak Lawn Village Board member Timothy Desmond has resigned from his post to enter into a contract with the village through his home building company to restore dilapidated properties, with the goal of putting them back on the tax rolls.
    Olivia Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 28 Apr. 2026
  • The newborn lived in a dank and dilapidated enclosure alongside seven other lions, including his parents, Kim and Carl, said Rebecca Aldworth, executive director of Humane World for Animals Canada, whose organization helped shut down the zoo and rescue the lions.
    Andrea Sachs, Washington Post, 25 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Jenner opted to wear a pair of faded yellow jeans, a Guizio white tank top and a belly chain.
    Gabrielle Rockson, PEOPLE, 22 Apr. 2026
  • For the second time in a week, the Dodgers made a minor-league acquisition of a faded pitching prospect with impressive velocity but poor control.
    Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 18 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Concerned gardeners can always avoid using shredded paper in the vegetable garden or only use unbleached paper.
    Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 24 Apr. 2026
  • This is chili spaghetti, topped with a nimbus of fluffy, shredded cheddar.
    Lauren Schuster, Charlotte Observer, 21 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Talking Heads played their first gig in June, 1975, opening for the Ramones at CBGB, a rock club on a mangy block in the East Village.
    Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2025
  • That also includes Leonard, a dapper old parrot who lives in the clinic, and Bitchy, a mangy, rangy alley cat who recently wandered into the office and took up residence.
    Duante Beddingfield, Freep.com, 30 July 2025
Adjective
  • That dingy look creeping across the screens and settling on every surface?
    Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Miami Herald, 27 Apr. 2026
  • Finally, dingy, discolored, or stringy towels need to get the heave-ho.
    Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Trees grew on the roof of the Polissya Hotel, which once housed nuclear scientists; at the Palace of Culture Energetik in the city’s center, frozen rain collected inside of a decrepit swimming pool.
    Lizzie Johnson, New Yorker, 25 Apr. 2026
  • Beyond the decrepit hydro plant, the entire dam's spillway is too small to pass a probable maximum flood and upgrades could cost millions.
    CBS News, CBS News, 24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • For example, receive a new pair of socks, finally throw away that extra holey pair hiding in the back of the drawer.
    Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 5 Jan. 2026
  • That’s thanks to a quirk of South Florida’s geology, where the entire region is perched on holey rock that does little to stop the rise of groundwater, which Sukop’s research has shown is rising on pace with sea level.
    Susan Merriam, Miami Herald, 12 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • The bronzed skin is tacky with the bird’s own fat and sugars, and beautifully caramelized along every ridge.
    Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2026
  • Sports franchises everywhere can be tacky, rapacious, incompetent, extortionate, and otherwise exploitative, but only because their customers, the fans, are essentially captives.
    Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 23 Apr. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Patchy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/patchy. Accessed 1 May. 2026.

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