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
“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
"Signed a hundred NDAs but I still say something," she snarls with punky brio over an Oh Mickey drumbeat.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2025
Sobule’s self-titled album also spawned the punky “Supermodel,” which was featured on the soundtrack of that year’s hit “Clueless” movie.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2025
On it is a cool punky charm bracelet that perfectly matches the rest of her: purple hair, tattoo sleeves, acid attitude.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
It’s their first attempt at reggae, played punkier, with a new, Jones-penned intro.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 9, 2020
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
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
Say, wasn't that the punkiest stunt that fellow in black was doin' on the platform?
From Polly of the Circus by Mayo, Margaret
For a gallery play, it was the punkiest I ever put up.
From Shorty McCabe by Wilson, F. Vaux (Francis Vaux)
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.
