1
as in cramps
a painful sudden tightening of a muscle
got a kink in my neck from lying in that awkward position for too long
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in tricks
an odd or peculiar habit
the boss's fondness for nicknames is one of those kinks that staffers just have to put up with
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in whims
a sudden impulsive and apparently unmotivated idea or action
whenever he got a kink in his head, he'd drop whatever he was doing to pursue this latest obsession
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Recent Examples of kinks
Noelle Harff, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 May 2026
But actually, the regulatory process is where many of the kinks are worked out and the practical applications of the bill are formalized.
—Kate Nishimura, Footwear News, 26 May 2026
What was once an eye-catching clique of wayward teens bathed in purple hues has metamorphosed into a barren hellscape rife with drug-smuggling cartels, pistol-packin’ pimps, sugar daddies with mummification kinks and online streamers.
—Marlow Stern, Variety, 24 May 2026
The Porter County Election Board worked through some minor kinks with the county’s new voting equipment during the election certification at noon on Friday in the tabulation room of the Elections & Registration Office.
—Shelley Jones, Chicago Tribune, 16 May 2026
Students in the class this semester are redesigning the AI agent to smooth out some kinks, and Ipeirotis plans to use it in all his future classes.
—Jocelyn Gecker, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2026
The Marlins started testing this strategy in the minors at the beginning of the 2025 season, working through the kinks before debuting it in the majors in mid-September.
—Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 24 Apr. 2026
Students in the class this semester are redesigning the AI agent to smooth out some kinks, and Ipeirotis plans to use it in all his future classes.
—Jocelyn Gecker, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2026
There are also some kinks to work out with Orion going forward.
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 13 Apr. 2026
Noun
Researchers asked where knives were kept, how to light matches, what kinks are.
—Noelle Harff, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 May 2026
But actually, the regulatory process is where many of the kinks are worked out and the practical applications of the bill are formalized.
—Kate Nishimura, Footwear News, 26 May 2026
What was once an eye-catching clique of wayward teens bathed in purple hues has metamorphosed into a barren hellscape rife with drug-smuggling cartels, pistol-packin’ pimps, sugar daddies with mummification kinks and online streamers.
—Marlow Stern, Variety, 24 May 2026
The Porter County Election Board worked through some minor kinks with the county’s new voting equipment during the election certification at noon on Friday in the tabulation room of the Elections & Registration Office.
—Shelley Jones, Chicago Tribune, 16 May 2026
Students in the class this semester are redesigning the AI agent to smooth out some kinks, and Ipeirotis plans to use it in all his future classes.
—Jocelyn Gecker, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2026
The Marlins started testing this strategy in the minors at the beginning of the 2025 season, working through the kinks before debuting it in the majors in mid-September.
—Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 24 Apr. 2026
Students in the class this semester are redesigning the AI agent to smooth out some kinks, and Ipeirotis plans to use it in all his future classes.
—Jocelyn Gecker, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2026
There are also some kinks to work out with Orion going forward.
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 13 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kinks
Noun
-
Fox News Digital previously reported that the behavior has divided travelers, with some people citing leg cramps and tight connections, while others view it as impatient or inconsiderate toward others.—
Kelly McGreal,
FOXNews.com,
31 May 2026
-
The most common symptoms are diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).—
Fernando Cervantes Jr,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
As a long-time shopper, Aly knows there are tricks to scoring the best deals.—
Celia Shatzman,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
-
The robot training center's primary focus will be on gathering all the data possible, across a diverse collection of robots, in an effort to be able to fine-tune methods to teach new bots old tricks.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
25 May 2026
Noun
-
No matter how much someone disagrees with recent decisions by the high court, threatening to subordinate judicial independence to the whims of a political party befits a banana republic.—
Washington Post Editorial Board,
Twin Cities,
29 May 2026
-
Barcelona, too, suffered from the whims of their men’s financial state this season.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
27 May 2026
Noun
-
The fight will feature other quirks, including, surprisingly enough, the national anthem.—
Sean Gregory,
Time,
26 May 2026
-
Short and sweet, Anything Goes earns a repeat listen, if only to catch all the little quirks and thoughtful lyrics that went over your head the first time.—
Kat Bein,
SPIN,
21 May 2026
Noun
-
The heavy hand of British executions, offensive to Indigenous notions of reparative justice, also provoked many.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
26 May 2026
-
Both are interested, in different ways, in notions of artifice and authenticity.—
Ellen Cushing,
The Atlantic,
25 May 2026
Verb
-
When startled, the snake coils its body into a figure-eight shape or raises its tail to mimic another head and confuse predators.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
11 May 2026
-
Dry all surfaces completely and replace knobs, drip pans, and coils back on the stove.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
14 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The company said the findings support a growing shift toward precision medicine, where therapies are tailored to the biological characteristics of an individual’s disease rather than applying the same treatment approach to all patients with similar clinical features.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
30 May 2026
-
This means the fruit from the seedling will closely resemble that of the parent plant in flavor and other characteristics.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
30 May 2026
Noun
-
As well as the vagaries of the wind, there’s a strong current flowing through the Hudson, sometimes as much as three knots.—
Andrew Rice,
New York Times,
26 May 2026
-
The vagaries of the Civil War are also hard to intuit at times.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
22 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Kinks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kinks. Accessed 2 Jun. 2026.
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