dodgy

adjective

ˈdä-jē How to pronounce dodgy (audio)
Definition of dodgynext
chiefly British
1
as in difficult
requiring exceptional skill or caution in performance or handling getting the trade unions to go along with the agreement will be a rather dodgy piece of work

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cunning
clever at attaining one's ends by indirect and often deceptive means needed a dodgy barrister to get him acquitted of the charge

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in questionable
giving good reason for being doubted, questioned, or challenged the authenticity of the "lost" Shakespearean sonnet was more than a little dodgy

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 dodgy Hobbs told me that his visitors are mainly interested in visiting Blackpool’s more sanitized offerings, but have a sense of curiosity about its dodgier elements. — George Francis Lee, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2026 But while ripoffs and dodgy reboots are common in horror, some of the weirdest unauthorized sequels are the result of an obsessed fan self-financing a tribute to their favorite movie. — Katie Rife, IndieWire, 11 Aug. 2026 The takeaway here is that the act of searching for dodgy movie downloads, be they of The Odyssey or another movie, can be just as dangerous as the actual download itself in terms of the malware risk. — Davey Winder, Forbes.com, 25 July 2026 This allows for the eye to fully measure his exploitative changes of speed, and the dodgy shifts in direction that have made him the World Cup’s all-time leading goal scorer. — Sally Jenkins, The Atlantic, 18 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for dodgy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dodgy
  1. difficult
  2. cunning
  3. questionable
  4. tough
  5. cute
  6. dubious
  7. sensitive
  8. slick
Adjective
  • The problem, Snegovaya said, is that achieving military autonomy for Europe and Ukraine is extremely difficult in the short term, and Europe has been slow to develop the necessary capabilities.
    — Elsa Ohlen, CNBC, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Past changes have pushed the glacier into a retreat that may be difficult to reverse, while new modeling suggests scientists may have underestimated how warm seawater reaches beneath it.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of difficult
Adjective
  • Magpies are opportunistic scavengers, incredibly cunning and deceitful and capable of calculated deception.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Last week, Alan Cumming’s cunning competition empire The Traitors unsheathed its most diabolical twist yet.
    — Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of cunning
Adjective
  • Falcons defensive end Za'Darius Smith (neck) is active after being listed as questionable.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Buffalo could score efficiently without needing its questionable receivers at full strength.
    — Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of questionable
Adjective
  • Celebrity hairstylist Brian Magallones considers this the perfect balance between a not-too-fussy and not-too-structured chignon, a style that sounds tough to style without a professional team but is actually quite easy to master at-home.
    — Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Coming off that dominant performance against the Yankees, Rasmussen went six-plus tough innings.
    — Rob Maaddi, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of tough
Adjective
  • Henry makes a cute joke about Arch’s wife; Arch weeps due to the hardships of war.
    — Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Someone tells you that the rats are actually cute, what’s your honest response?
    — Zach Schiffman, Curbed, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of cute
Adjective
  • If Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is to be believed, America will soon gain the dubious distinction of joining the only four countries on the globe that carry out executions in public.
    — Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Publicly available information from the Pike case, for instance, suggests that the drug may have been of dubious quality and extravasated during administration by Tennessee prison employees.
    — Dr. Jacob Appel, New York Daily News, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of dubious
Adjective
  • Adolescence is an exquisitely sensitive time in the brain’s development.
    — Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The chipmaker’s relationships with customers are similarly interlaced and sensitive.
    — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of sensitive
Adjective
  • Jack Hughes scored on a breakaway off a slick pass from Jesper Bratt early in overtime, lifting the New Jersey Devils to a 5-4 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The next email had a slick poster promoting the Zoom event, with the book cover as the backdrop and blurbs from the Economist and other publications.
    — Snigdha Poonam, The Dial, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of slick

Browse Nearby Words

dodging
dodgy
dodo
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Cite this Entry

“Dodgy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dodgy. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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