kinky

[king-kee]

adjective

kinkier, kinkiest 

1. full of kinks; closely twisted.

   a kinky wire.

2. (of hair) closely or tightly curled.

3. Slang.,  marked by unconventional sexual preferences or behavior, as fetishism, sadomasochism, or the like.

kinky

/ ˈkɪŋkɪ /

adjective

1. slang,  given to unusual, abnormal, or deviant sexual practices

2. informal,  exhibiting unusual idiosyncrasies of personality; quirky; eccentric

3. informal,  attractive or provocative in a bizarre way

   kinky clothes

4. tangled or tightly looped, as a wire or rope

5. tightly curled, as hair

Other Word Forms

• kinkily adverb
• kinkiness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of kinky¹

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45; kink + -y ¹

Example Sentences

She went onto play a lonely, middle-aged department store clerk tipped into a relationship with a kinky podiatrist in Bennett's Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet.

From BBC

Someone for whom food isn’t aesthetic, symbolic or kinky.

From Salon

This similar kinky tension is also seen in the dreamy "Father Figure" video where Michael's dominating female love interest, supermodel Tania Coleridge, toys with two men who want her while she has all the power.

From Salon

To clarify: While safe kinky play is an excellent forum for navigating and even healing trauma, it’s a harmful stereotype to assume that only “broken” people are drawn to kink.

From Los Angeles Times

His two most recent features, “Pain and Glory” and “Parallel Mothers,” were wistful affairs, the director last showing his sinister streak with 2011’s kinky, menacing “The Skin I Live in.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• far-out 
• outlandish 
• peculiar 
• quirky 
• unconventional 
• weird