Meanings
comparative patchier · superlative patchiest
- Not constant or continuous; intermittent or uneven.
patchy clouds
2 more examples
a patchy performance
Added to these woes was the Treasury's demands for across-the-board train operator cost-cutting of broadly 10%. Passenger rail's slow, patchy and fragile recovery had the stuffing knocked out of it once more.
2022 January 12, Nigel Harris, “Comment: Unhappy start to 2022”, in RAIL, number 948, page 3Synonyms: spasmodic
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveNot constant or continuous; intermittent or uneven.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveirregular or uneven in quality, texture, etc.
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Finnish epätasainen, hajanainen
- epätasainenNot constant or continuous
- hajanainenNot constant or continuous
Māori kōpurepure, pūrei
- kōpurepureFull of, or covered with, patches
- pūreiNot constant or continuous
- pūreireiNot constant or continuous
Spanish hecho a retales
- hecho a retalesFull of, or covered with, patches
Swedish ojämn, flammig
- ojämnNot constant or continuous
- flammigNot constant or continuous
Vietnamese nham nhở
- nham nhởFull of, or covered with, patches
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with patchy
All rhymes →Cite this entry
patchy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/patchy
“patchy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/patchy. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “patchy,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/patchy.
Source: patchy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.