: a person preoccupied with arcane details or procedures in a specialized field
Examples of wonk in a Sentence
the policy wonks in the government
the candidate has an army of policy wonks ready to write for him a position paper on virtually any issue
Recent Examples on the Web
In recent years, wonks in both parties have begun to focus on government inefficiency as a problem.
—
Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 16 June 2025
Budget wonks have cited challenges in estimating the long-term effects of a policy that Trump has repeatedly altered and delayed at rates ranging from 10% to 50%.
—Ramsey Touchberry, The Washington Examiner, 11 June 2025
Actually using tariffs to finance a big chunk of the federal government would be a painful and perilous undertaking, budget wonks say.
—Arkansas Online, 8 June 2025
As a multiple, there are three versions of my childhood: mine and the versions that belong to each of my brothers, cast in their specific wonk of memory.
—Literary Hub, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for wonk
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Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 16 June 2025
Budget wonks have cited challenges in estimating the long-term effects of a policy that Trump has repeatedly altered and delayed at rates ranging from 10% to 50%.
—Ramsey Touchberry, The Washington Examiner, 11 June 2025
Actually using tariffs to finance a big chunk of the federal government would be a painful and perilous undertaking, budget wonks say.
—Arkansas Online, 8 June 2025
As a multiple, there are three versions of my childhood: mine and the versions that belong to each of my brothers, cast in their specific wonk of memory.
—Literary Hub, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for wonk
Cite this Entry
“Wonk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wonk. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.
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