How to Use dodgy in a Sentence

dodgy

adjective
  • The car's got a dodgy engine.
  • They got into a dodgy situation.
  • Good goals do not excuse dodgy deeds.
    — Krista Kafer, Denver Post, 19 Aug. 2025
  • The plan is to go clubbing, and right away things start to feel dodgy.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025
  • And the point where things could start getting dodgy isn’t too far away.
    — Alicia Wallace, CNN Money, 23 Mar. 2026
  • Except crabs are quick and dodgy, and the wild ones don’t have their claws tied.
    — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, 22 Feb. 2023
  • In that way, users can bypass the dodgy rivals in app stores.
    — Alyssa Newcomb, Fortune, 20 Mar. 2020
  • And there are some mighty dodgy dealings with some of her images.
    — Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 8 Oct. 2011
  • But the assets attached to this debt are not as dodgy as those of a decade and a half ago.
    — The Economist, 12 July 2019
  • The biggest use case is still writing dodgy prose for search engines.
    — David Marchese David Marchese, New York Times, 1 May 2023
  • There’s something dodgy about portrait artists, and that’s part of their allure.
    — Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2023
  • This is dodgy terrain for a famous person to give context around.
    — Abid Rahman, HollywoodReporter, 18 Apr. 2025
  • Got Wolves playing some good football after a few dodgy years.
    — Steve Madeley, New York Times, 17 May 2025
  • This cat grew up in the dodgy Leith highrises.
    — Deborah Treisman, New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2026
  • So for those folks, relying on the good graces of tippers is a dodgy way to make a living.
    — Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 18 June 2018
  • Evan’s dodgy act of atonement builds up his own social capital.
    — Michael Phillips, chicagotribune.com, 22 Sep. 2021
  • And this one's about safeguarding against fraud and dodgy practices in science.
    — Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 14 Nov. 2012
  • You will be left to roll about in a tiny death chair accessorized with a dodgy buckle and flaccid strap.
    — Kimberly Harrington, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2021
  • LeBrun said their isolation and dodgy offense put points on the board.
    — Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 30 Apr. 2024
  • Apple’s dodgy start in AI could be overturned, two new reports say.
    — David Phelan, Forbes.com, 14 June 2026
  • From the searing heat and dodgy pitches, to the major shocks and stars of the future (both in the dugout and on the pitch).
    — The Athletic Staff, New York Times, 28 June 2025
  • Obviously the film has some very dodgy aspects to it that aren’t PC.
    — Jim Owczarski, Journal Sentinel, 21 Jan. 2023
  • There were no crowds to contend with, no paperwork hassles, no touts offering dodgy cab rides.
    — Paul Brady, Travel + Leisure, 19 Mar. 2024
  • There are all these dodgy TV shows and terrible films, but no one has really looked at it.
    — Marta Balaga, Variety, 7 Oct. 2024
  • Partly because the average person these days is perhaps much less likely to click on a dodgy email.
    — Andy Meek, BGR, 30 Aug. 2021
  • The last thing most new inventors want is to end up with a questionable company with dodgy scruples!
    — Jon Stojan, USA TODAY, 13 July 2023
  • Get our daily newsletter Valve is not the first to be affected by such dodgy trading.
    — The Economist, 7 Nov. 2019
  • And then there are the more familiar tricks of campaign seasons, from dodgy pamphlets to avoiding the media.
    — Hadas Gold, CNN, 10 Dec. 2019
  • The bad news is that the paper is rife with dodgy, unqualified correlations and claims.
    — Keith Kloor, Discover Magazine, 14 Jan. 2015
  • Wall Street just posted a record year—for the amount companies have been forced to pay out to settle claims of dodgy dealings.
    — Bernhard Warner, Fortune, 3 Nov. 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dodgy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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