: one whose ideas or actions are eccentric, fantastic, or insane : screwball
Synonyms of kook
Examples of kook in a Sentence
a bunch of kooks dressed up in weird costumes
if you insist on painting your house bright orange, everyone will assume you are a kook
Recent Examples on the Web
After Kent’s resignation, Republican hawks denounced him as a kook and a traitor to the cause, without touching on the delicate question of why Trump appointed such a disreputable figure in the first place.
—
Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
Even Kathy Hilton is like a ghost of her former self, with Jen Tilly taking the crown of doddering kook away from her.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2026
Over the years, the term has come to have a slightly pejorative slant, signifying a marginal kook who never quite made it into leading-lady territory.
—Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 2 Feb. 2026
Prizes will be available for participants in the categories of individual kook and group costume, judged by a panel composed of race partner Cardiff 101 Mainstreet.
—Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for kook
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Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
Even Kathy Hilton is like a ghost of her former self, with Jen Tilly taking the crown of doddering kook away from her.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2026
Over the years, the term has come to have a slightly pejorative slant, signifying a marginal kook who never quite made it into leading-lady territory.
—Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 2 Feb. 2026
Prizes will be available for participants in the categories of individual kook and group costume, judged by a panel composed of race partner Cardiff 101 Mainstreet.
—Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for kook
Cite this Entry
“Kook.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kook. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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