Meaning & use
fishy
Last updated
Seeming suspicious or dishonest; also, resembling or smelling of fish.
See it in a sentence
Something about his story sounded fishy, so the detective kept asking questions.
The kitchen still smelled fishy hours after dinner was over.
A note on using this word
The 'suspicious' meaning is informal and used mainly in casual conversation, not formal writing.
Words with a similar meaning
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
Another way to use it
2. adjective
Having the smell, taste, or appearance of fish.
The sauce had a faintly fishy taste that not everyone enjoyed.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fishy”, then compare your use with the examples above.