crooked

[krook-id, krookt]

adjective

1. not straight; bending; curved.

   a crooked path.

   Synonyms: twisted, spiral, tortuous, flexuous, sinuous, devious, winding

2. askew; awry.

   The picture on the wall seems to be crooked.

3. deformed.

   a man with a crooked back.

   Synonyms: misshapen

4. not straightforward; dishonest.

   Synonyms: fraudulent, deceitful, knavish, unscrupulous

5. bent and often raised or moved to one side, as a finger or neck.

6. (of a coin) polygonal.

   a crooked sixpence.

crooked

/ ˈkrʊkɪd /

adjective

1. bent, angled or winding

2. set at an angle; not straight

3. deformed or contorted

4. informal,  dishonest or illegal

5. informal,  hostile or averse to

Other Word Forms

• crookedly adverb
• crookedness noun
• uncrooked adjective
• uncrookedly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of crooked¹

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English croked; crook ¹, -ed ²

Example Sentences

The non-fisherwoman is also brandishing a crooked staff, curved at the top like a wooden candy cane.

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“Let her sell some of her gaudy rings to pay for the trip, then! Someone, get me a knife! I will chop off those crooked fingers myself!”

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She tapped the card with her long, crooked index finger.

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But it did, just barely & at a crooked angel.

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Cooper had heard some police in Mexico were crooked, but he never imagined the government would ignore the takeover of a gold mine.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• curved www.thesaurus.com
• curving www.thesaurus.com
• devious 
• errant 
• gnarled 
• meandering 
• serpentine 
• sinuous 
• twisted 
• twisting 
• winding