patchy
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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"Unlike typical shallow reefs, it does not always form a single continuous reef structure. Instead, it can appear as patchy or scattered coral communities spread across the seafloor."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026
I wondered if McGregor would have quibbled with his Obi-Wan’s patchy blond beard, but when I went back and double-checked the film, it is that scraggly.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
“This does not seem to be a controversial view,” they said, noting that about 23 basis points of tightening are currently priced in, and the economic recovery has been patchy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
VW, long a titan of German industry, has struggled with Chinese competition, US tariffs and patchy demand in Europe, including for its electric vehicles.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
His shaggy, curly red hair and patchy red teenager beard were wet from the shower.
From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner
The rain is likely to be lighter and patchier in the Midlands, southern and east England with just a few millimetres expected and some areas could miss out altogether.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
"In some catchments where permafrost has become patchier, weathering-driven carbon uptake was large enough to offset or even exceed river CO2 emissions."
From Science Daily ● Jun. 20, 2026
And returns on investment have been patchier because of its aggressive spending.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
Surveillance outside of farms was even patchier than on them, and bird flu tests have been hard to get.
From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2024
Despite being undead, he’d grown into adulthood: his fur patchier, his whiskers more snarled, his eye socket wider.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
The true severity of the problem isn’t always easy to ascertain, because, almost by definition, things tend to be worst in the places where record-keeping is patchiest.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 25, 2015
The Collegiate Chorale lent the music an epic quality; still, its twinkling palette aside, this was the patchiest and least satisfying of the distillations.
From New York Times ● Aug. 14, 2011
It didn’t take long for her to select the most crooked, most pathetic, patchiest pine tree in the bunch.
From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser
Closely confined between the Rockies to the right and the Selkirks to the west, the river held undeviatingly to its general northwesterly course, with only the patchiest of flats on either side.
From Down the Columbia by Lewis R. (Lewis Ransome) Freeman
Vocabulary lists containing patchy
