punky
1 AmericanOther Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of punky1
An Americanism dating back to 1870–75; punk 2 + -y 1
Origin of punky2
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.
See Examples For:
Lisbon, a punky explosion of noise from their debut album, gets a rare outing.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
With 18 million views on YouTube, the punky boom-bap “Duh!” from its eponymous release barely had a chance to cool when they announced their latest album ‘‘Ex,” which they released last Friday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2025
“Angular, punky, buncha noise stuff,” affirms Menashe, who also played with acclaimed Bloomington-to-L.A. band Triptides starting in 2010.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2025
In April of the following year, she finally brought her songs to life onstage with her punky Sour Tour, which played theaters, though she could have easily sold out arenas.
From New York Times ● Feb. 26, 2024
There’s a group at Columbia that meets Sunday afternoons to jam on this punky fake jazz everyone’s into.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
The Monkeys opened with “Four Out of Five,” a new song that owes more to David Bowie than Turner’s punkier early inspirations, foremost of whom is spoken-word performer John Cooper Clarke.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 29, 2018
They preferred the punkier numbers, like “Even the Losers” and “Refugee,” to the Byrds-ier T.P.
From The New Yorker ● Nov. 13, 2015
On the former, there's Nancy Whang, punkier and less polished than Ware, acting all cool and untouchable – as is her forte – before unexpectedly and gloriously blossoming into a loved-up chorus.
From The Guardian ● May 2, 2013
Deerhunter, his band, used to be noisier, sometimes punkier and sometimes more abstract; Atlas Sound, his solo recordings, used to be dronier and spacier.
From New York Times ● Nov. 27, 2011
A punkier version of a song I’d heard before started to play over the coffee shop’s speakers.
From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez
A charming mini-dress from 2000 by Miguel Adrover, known for redesigning salvaged garments, may be the punkiest postpunk garment in the whole show.
From New York Times ● May 9, 2013
"I can believe that," says I. For an auto it was the punkiest ever.
From Side-stepping with Shorty by Ford, Sewell
For a gallery play, it was the punkiest I ever put up.
From Shorty McCabe by Wilson, F. Vaux (Francis Vaux)
Say, wasn't that the punkiest stunt that fellow in black was doin' on the platform?
From Polly of the Circus by Mayo, Margaret
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.
