patchy

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patch·y

(păch′ē)

adj. patch·i·er, patch·i·est

1. Made up of or marked by patches: patchy trousers.

2. Uneven in quality or performance: Their work is patchy at best.

patch′i·ly adv.

patch′i·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

patchy

(ˈpætʃɪ)

adj, patchier or patchiest

1. irregular in quality, occurrence, intensity, etc: a patchy essay.

2. having or forming patches

ˈpatchily adv

ˈpatchiness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

patch•y

(ˈpætʃ i)

adj. patch•i•er, patch•i•est.

1. occurring in, forming, or made up of patches.

2. irregular in quality, texture, or distribution: patchy fog.

[1790–1800]

patch′i•ly, adv.

patch′i•ness, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Adj.

patchy - irregular or uneven in quality, texture, etc.; "a patchy essay"; "patchy fog"

uneven - not even or uniform as e.g. in shape or texture; "an uneven color"; "uneven ground"; "uneven margins"; "wood with an uneven grain"

patchy

adjective

1. uneven, irregular, variegated, spotty, mottled, dappled Bottle tans can make your legs look a patchy orange colour.
uneven even, regular, unbroken

2. irregular, varying, variable, random, erratic, uneven, sketchy, fitful, bitty, inconstant The response to the strike call has been patchy.
irregular constant, unbroken, unvarying

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

patchy

adjective

Lacking consistency or regularity in quality or performance:

erratic, inconsistent, spotty, uneven, unsteady, variable.

Translations

مُرَقَّع، غَيْر مُتَجانِس، مُخْتَلِف

nejednotnýrůznorodý

uregelmæssig

ungleichmäßig

inégal

szedett-vedett

misjafn

a macchie irregolare

nejednotný

derme çatma tutarsız

不调和的拼凑的

patchy

[ˈpætʃɪ] ADJ (patchier (compar) (patchiest (superl))) [performance] → desigual, poco uniforme; [knowledge] → incompleto; [clouds] → disperso; [fog] → discontinuo

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

patchy

[ˈpætʃi] adj

[colour] → inégal(e)

patchy fog → des nappes fpl de brouillard

(= incomplete) [information] → fragmentaire; [knowledge] → imparfait(e); [education, results] → plein(e) de lacunes

(= not consistently good) [performance] → inégal(e)

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

patchy

adj (+er)

work → ungleichmäßig, unterschiedlich; knowledge, memory, evidence → lückenhaft; what was the performance like? — patchy → wie war die Aufführung? — gemischt; his second novel however was much patchier → sein zweiter Roman war wesentlicher unausgeglichener; this is the patchiest production I’ve seen them do for a long time → eine derart ungleichmäßige Inszenierung habe ich von ihnen lange nicht mehr gesehen; what’s his work like? — patchy → wie ist seine Arbeit? — unterschiedlich

(lit) material → gefleckt; beard, grass → licht; patchy fog on the coast → an der Küste stellenweise Nebel; the patchy appearance of the half rebuilt city → der Eindruck von Flickwerk, den die zur Hälfte neu aufgebaute Stadt vermittelt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

patchy

[ˈpætʃɪ] adj (-ier (comp) (-iest (superl))) (performance) → pieno/a di alti e bassi; (knowledge) → incompleto/a; (fog) → a banchi; (colour) → irregolare

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

patch

(pӕtʃ) noun

1. a piece of material sewn on to cover a hole. She sewed a patch on the knee of her jeans.

2. a small piece of ground. a vegetable patch.

verb

to mend (clothes etc) by sewing on pieces of material. She patched the (hole in the) child's trousers.

ˈpatchy adjective

not all the same; varying in quality. patchy work.

ˈpatchiness noun

ˈpatchwork noun

cloth made by sewing small pieces of material together. a skirt made of patchwork; (also adjective) a patchwork quilt.

patch up

1. to mend, especially quickly and temporarily. He patched up the roof with bits of wood.

2. to settle (a quarrel). They soon patched up their disagreement.

References in classic literature ?

She grew pale--a patchy pallor, which meant that her nerves were out of order.

View in context

These black beams were set crooked or crisscross at all kinds of angles, giving the whole a most patchy and puzzling appearance.

View in context

Any stranger peeping into the office at that moment might have wondered what was the drama between the indignant man of business, and the fine-looking young fellow whose blond complexion was getting rather patchy as he bit his lip with mortification.

View in context

However, be aware that you'll have to keep recoating your drive every year because the seal will wear off making the tarmac appear patchy.

Dear Donny; DIY EXPERT DONNY SHERIDAN ANSWERS YOUR PROBLEMS Dear DSHANS PROBL

Despite the scorching heat soaring highs of 28C on Friday, Wales and the southern part of England will see patchy rain moving across the country.

UK weather forecast: Brits braces for rain this weekend after heatwave; The mercury is expected to drop with showers of spell move northerly after it peaked at 28C on Friday

The overall summary of the day is bright spells, although patchy rain will be moving across from the north.

Saturday July 6: Hour by hour weather forecast; Overall it is going to be more of a mixed bag

From streaky lines to patchy knees, we've all experienced a self-tanning disaster - just like Ross in that infamous Friends episode.

Can you look fab? Yes, you tan..

Over the next five or six days it will be more settled but with patchy drizzle, overnight patchy fog and even some patches in the morning.

Snow in uphill areas

Scientists also say the life was patchy, which they expected and called a basic rule of ecology.

NASA is Getting Closer to Discover Life on Mars

After showers were set to hit Greater Manchester overnight, a 'patchy frost' is expected from early this morning.

Passenger planes buffeted by strong crosswinds

The weather in Edinburgh should improve further into the evening as the new year approaches, due to a band of patchy rain moving southwards.

New Year's Eve to be dry and mild; NEWS WIRE

"By their own admission, Harlequins have been a bit patchy on form," he said.

Chiefs to rest stars at Quins; sport shorts RUGBY UNION

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