wonky

1 of 2

adjective (1)

ˈwäŋ-kē 

ˈwȯŋ-

wonkier; wonkiest

US

: characteristic of, relating to, or suggestive of a wonk: such as

a

: preoccupied with arcane details or procedures in a specialized field

She can get wonky about the economy when she wants to, but what sets her apart is her ability to tell a coherent, populist story about it in a way that other members of her party are either unwilling or unable to do.

—Rebecca Traister

b

: used by or appealing to wonks

… one of those politicians who actually find pleasure in the often-wonky details of public policy.

—John Powers

wonkiness noun

wonky

2 of 2

adjective (2)

won·​ky ˈwäŋ-kē 

wonkier; wonkiest

1

British : unsteady, shaky

2

chiefly British : awry, wrong

Examples of wonky in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Chapman, who worked long hours debriefing Marquez over the years and shepherded his grand jury testimony, grew emotional while talking about Marquez’s qualities as a wonky engineer who could talk endlessly about the inner workings of the ComEd’s electrical grid. —Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 19 Feb. 2026

Not the Only One was based on a dataset of 40,000 lines of extra data beyond the oral histories, which is very small, so the piece is very wonky. —Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 17 Feb. 2026

There were undeniably some highlights in the last hour of the ceremony, namely Theron’s inexplicable presence, rapper Ghali and his wonky dove made of dancers, and of course Andrea Bocelli, looking like an extremely suave Bond villain. —Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2026

Just like a wonky fuel pump or window motor, try tapping on it while a helper is operating the trim switch. —John Paul Senior Manager Public Affairs and Traffic Safety Aaa Northeast, Hartford Courant, 24 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective (2)

probably alteration of English dialect wankle, from Middle English wankel, from Old English wancol; akin to Old High German wankōn to totter — more at wench

First Known Use

Adjective (1)

1978, in the meaning defined above

Adjective (2)

1918, in the meaning defined at sense 1