crooked
Americanadjective
-
not straight; bending; curved.
a crooked path.
-
The picture on the wall seems to be crooked.
-
a man with a crooked back.
- Synonyms:
- misshapen
-
not straightforward; dishonest.
- Synonyms:
- fraudulent, deceitful, knavish, unscrupulous
-
bent and often raised or moved to one side, as a finger or neck.
-
(of a coin) polygonal.
a crooked sixpence.
adjective
-
bent, angled or winding
-
set at an angle; not straight
-
deformed or contorted
-
informal dishonest or illegal
-
informal hostile or averse to
Other Word Forms
- crookedly adverb
- crookedness noun
- uncrooked adjective
- uncrookedly adverb
Etymology
Origin of crooked
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English croked; crook 1, -ed 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I think of that optical illusion—an old lady with a crooked nose from one angle, a young one wearing a choker from another.
From Literature
She extended her hand, crooked and red and bent open, but he made no move.
From Literature
Hadel fixed her crooked gaze on me until a chill ran up my neck and through my bones.
From Literature
Perhaps the show’s final number can shed light: “God draws straight, but with crooked lines.”
From Los Angeles Times
Harlow smiles again, and her crooked grin is possibly the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
