Sketchiness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality of being vague or incomplete in detail ; the characteristic of being doubtful, uncertain, or suspicious
2. A state where something is not clearly defined or fully developed ; the feature of seeming untrustworthy or potentially unsafe
3. An attribute of having insufficient or rough outlines ; the condition of appearing dubious or questionable in reliability

Etymology: "Sketchiness" is a plain formation: the adjective "sketchy" with the suffix "-ness" attached, turning a quality into a noun. The suffix itself has a long pedigree, descending from Proto-Germanic forms and reaching Old English as "-nes," which became Middle English "-nesse" and eventually the modern "-ness." It is one of English's most productive tools for turning adjectives into abstract nouns, so almost any adjective can take it. The more interesting part is the base word. "Sketchy" describes something rough, incomplete, or lacking detail, which is exactly the sense "sketchiness" carries when it names that lack. Because the suffix is so ordinary, the noun simply names the state of being sketchy, and its meaning follows directly from the adjective's sense.

Synonyms: vagueness, indistinctness, incompleteness, roughness, looseness

Antonyms: clarity, precision, detail, thoroughness, completeness