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Showing results for crooked. Search instead for crookedest.
Synonyms

crooked

American  
[krook-id, krookt] / ˈkrʊk ɪd, krʊkt /

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 British  
/ 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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

He successfully lobbied for laws in the U.S., the U.K. and European Union that provide financial sanctions against crooked foreign officials and human rights violators.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

My cheeks are crooked because I had something called a pilonidal cyst in my early 20s.

From Slate • Feb. 22, 2026

In late August, a TikTok featuring an eccentric, over-the-top British man with a black bob and crooked teeth went viral.

From Salon • Dec. 26, 2025

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

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 6, 2025

One crooked finger emerged from the sable folds and waggled from side to side, as if it were too much trouble for the princess to actually shake her head in disbelief.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

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.