junky

1 of 2

adjective

junkier; junkiest
informal
: of inferior quality especially due to being worn out or cheaply made : having the character of junk
a junky old car
You have to wander all over the huge, overlit store's crowded aisles to find the stuff you want, and you have to maneuver your junky cart through all these other tired, hurried people with carts …David Foster Wallace
… it's engagingly junky entertainment, with a healthy sense of its own ludicrousness.Owen Gleiberman
It didn't seem right driving to the meetings, so I rode a junky old bike from my garage.David L'Heureux

junky

2 of 2

noun

less common spelling of junkie

1
a
disparaging + offensive : a person who is addicted to narcotics and especially to heroin
b
: a person who gets an unusual amount of pleasure from or has an unusual amount of interest in something
a television news junkie
Adrenaline junkies weren't the only ones who marveled as Austrian daredevil Baumgartner broke the world record for the highest and fastest skydive …Maura Judkis
2
: a junk dealer

Examples of junky in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
The temperature sensor—embracing the worst of junky smartphone gimmicks One big change to the Pixel 8 Pro this year is the addition of a barely functional temperature sensor. Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 11 Oct. 2023 But Heather struggled with too many junky apps and found the parental control features difficult to use. Shira Ovide, Washington Post, 21 Nov. 2023 States around the country have been arguably more successful in going after junky travel fees than the federal government has. Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2023 That helicopter money is causing a run on junk bonds, which suddenly don't seem so junky. Bernhard Warner, Fortune, 22 June 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'junky.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1880, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of junky was in 1880

Dictionary Entries Near junky

Cite this Entry

“Junky.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/junky. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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