Wonky
adjective
Something not straight, not balanced, or doesn't work correctly.
The table is wonky and wobbles when you lean on it.
Often appears as...
- wonky table
- wonky wheel
Usage tips
Informal
adjective
Something strange, weird, or not normal.
She has a wonky sense of humor.
Often appears as...
- wonky humor
- wonky behavior
Usage tips
Colloquial
adjective
Something unreliable or not trustworthy.
The weather forecast is wonky; it keeps changing.
Often appears as...
- wonky forecast
- wonky readings
Usage tips
Informal
adjective
Something not straight, not balanced, or doesn't work correctly.
The table is wonky and wobbles when you lean on it.
Often appears as...
- wonky table
- wonky wheel
Usage tips
Informal
adjective
Something strange, weird, or not normal.
She has a wonky sense of humor.
Often appears as...
- wonky humor
- wonky behavior
Usage tips
Colloquial
adjective
Something unreliable or not trustworthy.
The weather forecast is wonky; it keeps changing.
Often appears as...
- wonky forecast
- wonky readings
Usage tips
Informal
Definition 1 of 3
Pro Tip 1/3Physical Objects
Use 'wonky' for tangible items like furniture or machinery when they're uneven or broken.
Avoid placing your laptop on that wonky desk; it could fall off.
Pro Tip 2/3Not about People
'Wonky' should not be used to describe people who aren't standing straight.
The old fence looks wonky, not the man leaning against it.
Pro Tip 3/3Situational Use
Apply 'wonky' to temporary situations where things don't work as expected.
Sorry for the delay, our printer is a bit wonky today.
Pro Tip 1/3Physical Objects
Use 'wonky' for tangible items like furniture or machinery when they're uneven or broken.
Avoid placing your laptop on that wonky desk; it could fall off.
Pro Tip 2/3Not about People
'Wonky' should not be used to describe people who aren't standing straight.
The old fence looks wonky, not the man leaning against it.
Pro Tip 3/3Situational Use
Apply 'wonky' to temporary situations where things don't work as expected.
Sorry for the delay, our printer is a bit wonky today.
Pro Tip 1/3Physical Objects
Use 'wonky' for tangible items like furniture or machinery when they're uneven or broken.
Avoid placing your laptop on that wonky desk; it could fall off.
Pro Tip 2/3Not about People
'Wonky' should not be used to describe people who aren't standing straight.
The old fence looks wonky, not the man leaning against it.
Pro Tip 3/3Situational Use
Apply 'wonky' to temporary situations where things don't work as expected.
Sorry for the delay, our printer is a bit wonky today.
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Video examples
Can a divided America...
but that's like a whole long, wonky conversation. But I think it starts with people realizing that this is a turning point. And yes, we need a new kind of empathy. We need to this is what our country needs, and this is what you need if you don't want to -- Raise your hand if you want to spend the next four years
Video examples
The Missing Years of...
America any good historian who's worth his salt will go with the earliest and best evidence not later evidence not wonky evidence not evidence that contradicts all our earliest and best sources you're going to go with your earliest and best evidence and that
Video examples
Can a divided America...
but that's like a whole long, wonky conversation. But I think it starts with people realizing that this is a turning point. And yes, we need a new kind of empathy. We need to this is what our country needs, and this is what you need if you don't want to -- Raise your hand if you want to spend the next four years
Video examples
The Missing Years of...
America any good historian who's worth his salt will go with the earliest and best evidence not later evidence not wonky evidence not evidence that contradicts all our earliest and best sources you're going to go with your earliest and best evidence and that
Example 1 of 2
Quote examples
Marvin Ammori
American Lawyer
Net neutrality sounds wonky and technical but is actually quite simple. It would keep the Internet as it has always been - cable and phone companies would remain mere gateways to all sites, rather than gatekeepers determining where users can go and what innovators can offer them.
Quote examples
Naomi Klein
Canadian Journalist
The way in which people talk about climate is just so wonky and so abstract and such a boys' club that it makes a lot of women just roll their eyes or feel that they are somehow not qualified. I certainly had to fight that feeling in myself in order to write about it.
Quote examples
Joy Behar
American Comedian
You can see a lot of politics on a lot of different channels. I'm not interested, really, in talking in some wonky conversation about politics, though. It's not my speed. I'm not interested in the ins and outs of health care.
Quote examples
Jo Brand
British Comedian
My mum and my husband are from Irish backgrounds, so we have a lot of potatoes. Chips, mashed, boiled, new potatoes, I love them all. Even the slightly wonky ones like Duchess potatoes that go up in a little spiral.
Quote examples
Ciaran Hinds
Irish Actor
I've got a wonky nose. Is it classical, is it not? That's what's hard work, getting down into the nitty-gritty of who are the human beings behind the front of what they present?
Quote examples
Sara Cox
English Entertainer
I can't go to the gym and sit on those machines - I'm medically unable to run because I'm just that wonky all over. I'd love to be a runner but I'm no good.
Quote examples
Richard Brake
Welsh Actor
Any filmmakers out there want a Welshman with sharp cheekbones and wonky teeth to play the love interest in their movie, give me a call.
Quote examples
Diana Silvers
American Actress
I'm the fifth of six kids, and we're quite an eclectic family. People call us the 'Royal Tenenbaums,' because we're that kind of wonky.
Quote examples
James Righton
English Musician
I always liked music that was melodic, but that had something a bit more wonky and odd going on too.
Quote examples
Julie Christie
British Actress
There were some films I refused because the feminist aspect was a bit wonky.
Quote examples
Marvin Ammori
American Lawyer
Net neutrality sounds wonky and technical but is actually quite simple. It would keep the Internet as it has always been - cable and phone companies would remain mere gateways to all sites, rather than gatekeepers determining where users can go and what innovators can offer them.
Quote examples
Naomi Klein
Canadian Journalist
The way in which people talk about climate is just so wonky and so abstract and such a boys' club that it makes a lot of women just roll their eyes or feel that they are somehow not qualified. I certainly had to fight that feeling in myself in order to write about it.
Quote examples
Joy Behar
American Comedian
You can see a lot of politics on a lot of different channels. I'm not interested, really, in talking in some wonky conversation about politics, though. It's not my speed. I'm not interested in the ins and outs of health care.
Quote examples
Jo Brand
British Comedian
My mum and my husband are from Irish backgrounds, so we have a lot of potatoes. Chips, mashed, boiled, new potatoes, I love them all. Even the slightly wonky ones like Duchess potatoes that go up in a little spiral.
Quote examples
Ciaran Hinds
Irish Actor
I've got a wonky nose. Is it classical, is it not? That's what's hard work, getting down into the nitty-gritty of who are the human beings behind the front of what they present?
Quote examples
Sara Cox
English Entertainer
I can't go to the gym and sit on those machines - I'm medically unable to run because I'm just that wonky all over. I'd love to be a runner but I'm no good.
Quote examples
Richard Brake
Welsh Actor
Any filmmakers out there want a Welshman with sharp cheekbones and wonky teeth to play the love interest in their movie, give me a call.
Quote examples
Diana Silvers
American Actress
I'm the fifth of six kids, and we're quite an eclectic family. People call us the 'Royal Tenenbaums,' because we're that kind of wonky.
Quote examples
James Righton
English Musician
I always liked music that was melodic, but that had something a bit more wonky and odd going on too.
Quote examples
Julie Christie
British Actress
There were some films I refused because the feminist aspect was a bit wonky.
Example 1 of 10
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