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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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 wonk And countless wonks have been shown the door in an effort to rid Trump’s government of expertise. Philip Elliott, TIME, 14 Feb. 2025 Beyond Wall Street, the development drew fresh questions for the wonks in Washington about the American supremacy on machine learning, risks to privacy, and the very premise of truth. Philip Elliott, TIME, 28 Jan. 2025 According to some energy wonks, this unleashing of manure biogas has come at the expense of faster vehicle electrification. Kenny Torrella, Vox, 13 Jan. 2025 But this will prove difficult for policymakers and wonks intent on measuring outcomes. Michael B. Horn, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for wonk
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wonk
Noun
  • Luck is the scion of the football program, a lovable nerd who happened to be the best quarterback in football, aka the perfect Stanford athletics niche: smart and good.
    Chris Branch, New York Times, 1 May 2025
  • This is also a great game for nerd families to get together and play for an adventure or two after dinner but before bed.
    Rob Wieland, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • There’s a noticeable pride Morot takes in touring me around his geek’s paradise: a two-level office crammed with shelves of scowling latex heads, furry creatures and a pair of giant gators overlooking it all.
    Joshua Rothkopf, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2025
  • There were kind of two tracks at the time: There was Das Keyboard, aimed toward the more professional programmers and the geeks, and then the gaming keyboards.
    Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 10 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Wonk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wonk. Accessed 22 May. 2025.

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