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as in hoarse
harsh and dry in sound
her voice was scratchy from a cold
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of scratchy
Everything was soft to touch except the scratchy instrument binnacle.
—
Matthew MacConnell, Forbes.com, 21 May 2025
Pavement’s early music was scratchy and eccentric, built on guitars that gnawed and eked their way through songs.
—Hua Hsu, New Yorker, 19 May 2025
Calling in from his home not far out of Halifax, Nova Scotia, the cell service is spotty and scratchy at best.
—Garret K. Woodward, Rolling Stone, 30 Apr. 2025
The group stops, and the cubs make several scratchy, high-pitched sounds.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 30 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scratchy
Matthew MacConnell, Forbes.com, 21 May 2025
Pavement’s early music was scratchy and eccentric, built on guitars that gnawed and eked their way through songs.
—Hua Hsu, New Yorker, 19 May 2025
Calling in from his home not far out of Halifax, Nova Scotia, the cell service is spotty and scratchy at best.
—Garret K. Woodward, Rolling Stone, 30 Apr. 2025
The group stops, and the cubs make several scratchy, high-pitched sounds.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 30 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scratchy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scratchy
Adjective
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In a profession that lives at the jagged edge of justice and humanity, showing up matters.—
Sonia Singh,
Rolling Stone,
10 July 2025
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The end of the branch shows a smooth cut, but the bark layer has a jagged appearance.—
Tim Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
5 July 2025
Adjective
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If certain emulsifiers are especially gentle on the gut, the food industry could use them to replace the ones that might be more irritating.—
Yasmin Tayag,
The Atlantic,
25 June 2025
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But, there are also some unnecessary (potentially irritating) extras—eucalyptus oil, parfum, and benzyl alcohol.—
Boutayna Chokrane,
Wired News,
24 June 2025
Adjective
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For most of his first 10 songs, Costello’s singing was ragged and hoarse.—
George Varga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 June 2025
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Screamed himself hoarse and still tried calling for his brother.—
Maria Morava,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 June 2025
Adjective
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However, women's health tech and privacy is a thorny issue.—
Emily Forlini,
PC Magazine,
11 July 2025
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That said, the negative reputation surrounding the last lines in Jones’ thorny adaptation — a punch-up from Ellison’s original text that’s meaner and more sexist, no doubt — seems outsized.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
11 July 2025
Adjective
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Audiences can often sense the corporate overlords’ gruff hands pushing these previously distinct programs together.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
10 July 2025
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On the other hand, the 73-year-old Belichick’s gruff persona, with his monosyllabic utterances at news conferences, has become the stuff of legend.—
Bruce Feldman,
New York Times,
7 July 2025
Adjective
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With a prickly bubble, Fever Tree leapt to the top of our tasters’ lists almost immediately.—
Sam Stone,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
14 July 2025
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Season 7, released in April, continued the show’s prickly use of digital avatars and machine learning as plot devices for stories about moviemaking, video games and even attending a funeral.—
Omar L. Gallaga,
Los Angeles Times,
11 July 2025
Adjective
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Now, at only 23 years old, he's gone viral for his warm, husky voice and his Noah Kahan meets Zach Bryan country-folk sound.—
Audrey Gibbs,
The Tennessean,
2 July 2025
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The 2006 adventure film revolves around a team of husky sled dogs struggling to survive in Antarctica after a devastating snowstorm—and Ilardi quickly realized that Atlas was paying attention.—
Rachael O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scratchy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scratchy. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
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