wacky
Americanadjective
-
wackier,
comparative
-
wackiest
superlative
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of wacky
First recorded in 1935–40; apparently whack (noun, as in out of whack ) + -y 1
Explanation
Something that's wacky is weird or nutty or silly. Your goofy uncle who wears a funny hat and does magic tricks at the dinner table is wacky. Use the adjective wacky when you're talking about someone with a ridiculous sense of humor. Clowns are, by definition, wacky, for example. Most people have at least one wacky relative, and some are lucky enough to have entire wacky families. Wacky comes from the nineteenth century British slang term whacky, which arose from whack, specifically the idea of getting whacked on the head so hard that it turns you wacky.
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:
Obviously, clambering up and down the dangerously steep pass, ferrying goods on horseback or by mule or — for a few wacky, experimental months in the mid-1850s, Army camels — wasn’t workable.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
With the 48th edition of the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta returning from 7-9 August, here is a roundup of some of the most wacky shapes.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Elsewhere, sizable sculptures of unknown creatures made from glass beads are effortfully wacky.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Alan Greenspan’s legacy is alive and well, JPMorgan’s line of succession becomes foggier, and SoftBank releases another wacky PowerPoint.
From Slate ● Jun. 27, 2026
I have to borrow one of Lorena’s dresses, which isn’t easy because her closet is full of glittery clothes with wacky patterns.
From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez
At their peak, bubbles feature IPOs of outfits with much wackier marketing pitches than a name change to something like “AI-squared.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
Welcome to the wackier side of geoengineering - deliberately intervening in the Earth's climate system to try to counteract the damage we have done to it.
From BBC ● Mar. 15, 2024
The sequel gets wackier, as the Smooth Moves moving team expands the business into entirely new dimensions and brings on new recruits like a sneakerhead — who literally has a sneaker for a head.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 13, 2023
Cahn: The wackier it is, the more people are like, “Oh, it’s a real relationship.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2023
This improbable story — a team that trailed in the final minutes of an elimination game of the play-in tournament somehow getting to the NBA Finals — now has an even wackier plot twist.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 5, 2023
Freddie Freeman slammed a walk-off homer to lead off the bottom of the 18th, putting the finishing touch on one of the weirdest, wackiest, most mind-numbing contests ever staged in the Fall Classic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2025
Yet it seems I’ve yet to learn from my previous mistakes because now, as a grown adult, I still find myself drawn to the wackiest of wacky flavors.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2025
Camp was the theme in 2019, producing what is considered one of the wackiest displays of dress by the celebrity crowd.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 30, 2023
Here's a look back on some of the wackiest costumes that have been donned by runners over the years.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2023
Programmers know a majority of TV viewers will only watch video clips of the most poignant or wackiest moment of the Emmys telecast.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2022
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.
