wonky
1 Americanadjective
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(of a person) shaky, groggy, or unsteady.
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not exactly straight or balanced; off-kilter.
a wonky chair with an uneven leg.
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not working properly; faulty; unreliable.
Something went wonky with my computer.
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That's just odd logic and wonky reasoning.
adjective
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stupid; boring; unattractive.
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relating to, appealing to, or characteristic of a wonk; concerned with minute details of a topic or issue.
a wonky bureaucrat.
adjective
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shaky or unsteady
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not in correct alignment; askew
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liable to break down or develop a fault
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of wonky1
First recorded in 1915–20; perhaps variant of dialectal wanky, equivalent to wank(le) ( Middle English wankel, Old English wancol; see wench) + -y 1
Origin of wonky2
First recorded in 1975–80; wonk ( def. ) + -y 1 ( def. )
Explanation
Things that are wonky are a little bit crooked or wobbly — a table that isn't balanced right, a nose that's a bit out of place. Something that’s wonky isn’t necessarily broken; it’s just slightly “off.” Wonky can also describe something that isn't working correctly, such as an old TV set that shows only one channel, or maybe even your brain after you’ve just pulled an all-nighter. Important: Don't confuse wonky with wonk. A wonk is an extremely studious person, and usually wonks are very far from being wonky (except perhaps in terms of their social skills).
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.
Finally, I always linger by the discount produce section, where mesh bags of slightly bruised or cosmetically wonky fruits and vegetables wait in cheerful little piles.
From Salon • May 22, 2026
He moved back home, joined a wonky subsidiary of American Airlines and applied his mathematical brain to pricing airplane seats.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 25, 2026
I called it “wonky step” at the time because it was just really wonky and repetitive.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2026
A consumer device for the masses and Nvidia’s wonky supercomputer systems might seem to have little in common.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026
‘And dreams about me...about the BFG...come on, come on, hurry up, get on with it...now where in the wonky world is I keeping those?...’
From "The BFG" by Roald Dahl
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.
