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Slang dictionary results for janky.

janky

American  

[jang-kee] / ˈdʒæŋ ki /

adjective

Slang.

1. inferior in quality.

   a low-budget janky recording.

2. not working or operating properly: the game's janky interface.

   a janky old car;

   the game's janky interface.

3. untrustworthy; disreputable.

   He's a good guy but has some weird and janky friends.

4. undesirable; dilapidated or run-down.

   He's from the janky part of town where there was a shooting the other night.

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Etymology

Origin of janky

First recorded in 1990–95; origin uncertain; perhaps a regional or affected pronunciation of junky ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

janky

Weigh those cons against the things AI has reliably proven it can do – cheat on homework and write janky code – and it’s easy to understand Sanders’ urge to stand and yell “stop!”

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026

Gavin Farmer, a computer science teacher in North Carolina, said teachers struggle to monitor kids’ screens, using janky software showing tiny versions of their screens on their laptops to spot off-task behavior—all while teaching.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026

“From the moment I was writing that song, it was screaming at me that it was track one. It felt right to start with this janky phone recording of me playing piano,” he says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2025

"It's incredibly janky but, for me, the jank is the important thing," she says.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2025

And then it hit me why he didn’t have that janky door replaced.

From "The Boy in the Black Suit" by Jason Reynolds