as in nerd
a person slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits
the candidate has an army of policy wonks ready to write for him a position paper on virtually any issue
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Recent Examples of wonk
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wonk
Noun
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This is the kind of thing that Jenkins, a journalist and prolific documentarian, specialized in: connecting the dots in a way that was insightful, enlightening, fun and pure catnip for cross-pop-cultural nerds.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
29 July 2025
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That distillery is a favorite of many whiskey nerds, mostly for its sourced whiskeys that are blended by Drew Kulsveen and his team.—
Jonah Flicker,
Robb Report,
23 July 2025
Noun
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Think Chicago Auto Show but for NASCAR devotees and all kinds of car geeks.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
26 July 2025
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The upcoming Alien television series crash landed into Comic-Con with a blockbuster Hall H panel that got thousands of geeks sitting on the edge of their seats to an encroaching otherworldly horror.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
25 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wonk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wonk. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
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