PATCHY (patchier, patchiest)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: patchier    , patchiest   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does patchy mean? 

• PATCHY (adjective)
  The adjective PATCHY has 1 sense:

1. irregular or uneven in quality, texture, etc.

  Familiarity information: PATCHY used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PATCHY (adjective)

Comparative: patchier   
Superlative: patchiest   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Irregular or uneven in quality, texture, etc.

Context example:

patchy fog

Similar:

uneven (not even or uniform as e.g. in shape or texture)

Derivation:

patch (a small contrasting part of something)

patchiness (unevenness in quality or performance)

 Context examples 

Previous radar and imaging studies of the Moon, whose polar thermal environments are very similar to those of Mercury, found only patchy, shallow ice deposits.

(The Moon and Mercury May Have Thick Ice Deposits, NASA)

Symptoms include weight loss, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, muscle weakness, fatigue, low blood sugar, low blood pressure, and patchy or dark skin.

(Addison Disease, NCI Dictionary)

In patchy doses in the open ocean, Sargassum contributes to ocean health by providing habitat for turtles, crabs, fish, and birds and, like other plants, producing oxygen via photosynthesis.

(Satellites Find Biggest Seaweed Bloom in the World, NASA)

The results are consistent with the black hole having a patchy, spherical web of dust located a few trillion miles (half a light-year) from the black hole itself.

(Studies Find Echoes of Black Holes Eating Stars, NASA)

Dementia, due to significant cerebrovascular disease, with a stepwise deteriorating course and a 'patchy' distribution of neurologic deficits.

(Multi-Infarct Dementia, NIH CRISP Thesaurus)

There are patchy polypoid masses of intra-alveolar granulation tissue in small airway lumina and alveolar ducts.

(Cryptogenic Organizing Pneumonia, NCI Thesaurus)

Irregularly shaped, patchy discolorations in the skin.

(Mottled Skin, NCI Thesaurus)

Mercury’s ice deposits appear to be much less patchy than those on the Moon, and relatively fresh, perhaps emplaced or refreshed within the last tens of millions of years.

(The Moon and Mercury May Have Thick Ice Deposits, NASA)