janky
Americanadjective
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inferior in quality.
a low-budget janky recording.
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not working or operating properly: the game's janky interface.
a janky old car;
the game's janky interface.
-
untrustworthy; disreputable.
He's a good guy but has some weird and janky friends.
-
undesirable; dilapidated or run-down.
He's from the janky part of town where there was a shooting the other night.
Etymology
Origin of janky
First recorded in 1990–95; origin uncertain; perhaps a regional or affected pronunciation of junky 1 ( def. )
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.
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
"It's incredibly janky but, for me, the jank is the important thing," she says.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2025
Meta installed a janky and privacy-corrupting A.I. search tool to Instagram.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2025
The classic kind, but with a janky wheel.
From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon
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.
