From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishspottyspot‧ty /ˈspɒti $ ˈspɑːti/ adjective 1 British English informalMIHBH someone who is spotty has small raised red marks on their skin, especially on their face a tall, thin, spotty youth a spotty face2 American EnglishBAD good only in some parts, but not in other parts SYN patchy British English
Examples from the Corpus
spotty• Even their kisses might give him a disease from which he would die or become horribly spotty.• Kelly said that because reporting by the 17 cities had been voluntary since 1993, cooperation had been spotty.• Waved back by a Kalashnikov-wielding, spotty boy-soldier, I was subject to a ten-minute harangue by two bad-tempered border guards.• spotty bus service• Clear a spotty complexion with this easy homemade mask.• a spotty performance• But sketch shows have a spotty prime-time record of late.• The content is pretty spotty so far.• What makes cognac the international high-flyer, and armagnac the spotty, stay-at-home plodder? 