fishy

adjective

ˈfi-shē 

fishier; fishiest

1

: of or resembling fish especially in taste or odor

2

: creating doubt or suspicion : questionable

Synonyms

• debatable
• disputable
• dodgy [chiefly British]
• doubtable
• doubtful
• dubious
• dubitable
• equivocal
• problematic
• problematical
• queer
• questionable
• shady
• shaky
• suspect
• suspicious

Examples of fishy in a Sentence

There's something fishy about that guy.

something's fishy about the way he's acting

Recent Examples on the Web

Hang Nguyen, aka the Hang Edit, has also hopped on the fishy trend, though her take was more photorealistic. —Margaux Anbouba, Vogue, 5 May 2025

Always rely on official IRS government websites and beware of fishy offers of help with high price tags or sensational promises. —Cora Lewis, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2025

By Sam Reed But the hatch wasn’t the only thing that seemed fishy to certain internet users. —Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 16 Apr. 2025

But Shauna, sensing that something fishy was going on, changed her place in the circle so that Mari wound up with the death card. —Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 11 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

fishy

adjective

ˈfish-ē 

fishier; fishiest

1

: of, relating to, or resembling fish

a fishy odor

2

: arousing doubt or suspicion : questionable

the story sounds fishy to me