slang
as in dumb
not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily kept getting typecast as the hero's dorky sidekick

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dorky Phoenix is cast against type as the dorky kid. Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Sep. 2025 Prepare for an extremely dorky confession. Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2025 Krypto, who was introduced in 1955, is one of the latter, and Gunn uses him to emphasize how fallible his take on the Man of Steel is going to be, as well as to signal how wonderfully dorky and earnest his movie is about to get. Alison Willmore, Vulture, 8 July 2025 Some are kind of dorky; others are raunchy. Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 19 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for dorky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dorky
Adjective
  • As Legally Blonde's Elle Woods, Witherspoon charted a memorable path from dumb blonde to Harvard Law School graduate.
    Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Nov. 2025
  • Celebrities fight it out to be eliminated from the competition as quickly as possible to avoid being crowned the nation’s dumbest.
    Peter White, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • What gave me the crazy idea to stand at the bar, listening to that woman being praised for her stupid f---ing commitment to New York City and her ugly f---ing buildings?
    Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 7 Nov. 2025
  • Her mechanism for luring victims involves a stick, someone’s hair, her blood, and another person stupid enough to let her through their front door.
    Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Hoover finished 319 yards on 34-of-50 passing, but his two turnovers were critical mistakes that led to TCU’s slow start in the first half.
    Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Nov. 2025
  • When visiting the exhibit, plan on taking your time to make the most of it, or what the American Federation of Arts calls slow looking.
    Susan B. Barnes, Southern Living, 9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • According to Bruce Blair, a former Air Force launch officer and nuclear policy expert, between 1962 and the mid-1970s the most powerful digits on the globe were simple – eight zeros.
    Charlotte Reck, CNN Money, 9 Nov. 2025
  • That something as simple as a COVID vaccine might improve survival in cancer patients receiving standard immunotherapy has taken oncologists by surprise — in a good way.
    Lisa Jarvis, Twin Cities, 8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • The thick artificial foliage is pre-lit with warm white LED bulbs spaced through the entire length of the 10-foot piece.
    Kate McGregor, Architectural Digest, 5 Nov. 2025
  • With more than 38,000 gallons of fuel on board the cargo flight bound for Hawaii, the crash created a massive ball of fire – punctuated by smaller explosions from flammable material on the ground – and sent a towering plume of thick black smoke into the sky.
    Karina Tsui, CNN Money, 5 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Dorky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dorky. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.

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