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:
With Wood now fully integrated into the group , punky, guitar-centric rockers like “Respectable,” “When the Whip Comes Down” and “Shattered” snarl.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
At the time, she had only shared two singles from the upcoming project — “Skittles,” an indie-pop tribute to her late first love, and “Ysilandia” a punky guitar ballad featuring fellow Puerto Rican singer Robi.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2025
And the untamed, punky energy of People was the only number where the band were really allowed to cut loose.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2025
A friendly troll with a punky mohawk and red-capped mushrooms growing from its back moves the brothers up a mountain by cradling them in its supersize hands.
From New York Times ● Apr. 4, 2024
The steps are made of thick wood, but slick and punky soft where the water has been dripping all these years, and I can feel how it sags under my feet.
From "Freak The Mighty" by Rodman Philbrick
Boy Harsher’s style, variously described as “coldwave” and “electronic body music,” tends toward the punkier side of synthesizer-driven dance styles.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 11, 2022
It’s their first attempt at reggae, played punkier, with a new, Jones-penned intro.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 9, 2020
They’re underlined by music that expands on all of her guitar-band idioms: growing punkier, more psychedelic, dronier and noisier as the songs demand.
From New York Times ● May 16, 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
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
Say, wasn't that the punkiest stunt that fellow in black was doin' on the platform?
From Polly of the Circus by Margaret Mayo
"I can believe that," says I. For an auto it was the punkiest ever.
From Side-stepping with Shorty by Sewell Ford
For a gallery play, it was the punkiest I ever put up.
From Shorty McCabe by F. Vaux (Francis Vaux) Wilson
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
