scratchy

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scratchy

  • /ˈskɹæt͡ʃi/

Rhymes with -ætʃi

adjective scratchier · scratchiest

  1. Characterized by scratches. An indulgent playmate, Grannie would lay aside the long scratchy-looking letter she was writing (heavily crossed ‘to save notepaper’) and enter into the delightful pastime of ‘a chicken from Mr Whiteley's’.
  2. of a sore throat Irritating; itchy.
  3. informal, of an analogue radio transmission Noisy, lossy; marred by white noise or static as a result of poor or low signal, interference or unfavourable atmospheric conditions. The FM station two hundred miles away was receivable, but the audio was too scratchy to positively identify.
  4. of a phonograph record Having popping and/or crackling sounds due to excessive wear, especially from scratch marks. Once he almost fell asleep, and then the little record player started up in his mother and father's bedroom. Mom was playing her scratchy Elvis 45s again.
  5. informal Irritable; tetchy. 'Now, now, don't get scratchy,' said Casali. 'You've got enough troubles of your own. […]

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MLA

"scratchy." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/scratchy. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

scratchy. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/scratchy

Chicago

"scratchy." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/scratchy.

BibTeX
@misc{scratchy_2026,
  title = {scratchy},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/scratchy},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}