as in nerds
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 wonks
In the hours after splashdown, space wonks noticed a large, unusual-looking white patch on the otherwise dark and scorched heat shield.
—
Denise Chow, NBC news, 14 Apr. 2026
This isn't a command-line interface just for hardcore wonks, either.
—K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 13 Apr. 2026
Policy wonks and software engineers were turned away at the door of the conservative tech think tank Foundation for American Innovation’s reception on Monday evening, held at MAGA hot spot Butterworth’s.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 30 Mar. 2026
Rafters, ranchers, anglers, hydrologists, energy wonks, and government officials have coordinated in the past to keep water in the river.
—Pete McBride, Time, 27 Feb. 2026
Elsewhere in the world, perhaps such a technical-sounding government decision would fall to the domain of data wonks and financial consultants.
—Isabel Debre, Fortune, 11 Feb. 2026
Some industry insiders and policy wonks will say the public needs a few economics lessons.
—Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 24 Oct. 2025
But there’s no way, the GTW accounting wonks insist, that the Buffs’ bean-counters would ever let CU give up a home game, and a home gate, for a jaunt across the pond.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 11 Oct. 2025
Don’t look now, but the wonks have come out with a way to measure how well AI entities do at forming relationships with people.
—John Werner, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Denise Chow, NBC news, 14 Apr. 2026
This isn't a command-line interface just for hardcore wonks, either.
—K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 13 Apr. 2026
Policy wonks and software engineers were turned away at the door of the conservative tech think tank Foundation for American Innovation’s reception on Monday evening, held at MAGA hot spot Butterworth’s.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 30 Mar. 2026
Rafters, ranchers, anglers, hydrologists, energy wonks, and government officials have coordinated in the past to keep water in the river.
—Pete McBride, Time, 27 Feb. 2026
Elsewhere in the world, perhaps such a technical-sounding government decision would fall to the domain of data wonks and financial consultants.
—Isabel Debre, Fortune, 11 Feb. 2026
Some industry insiders and policy wonks will say the public needs a few economics lessons.
—Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 24 Oct. 2025
But there’s no way, the GTW accounting wonks insist, that the Buffs’ bean-counters would ever let CU give up a home game, and a home gate, for a jaunt across the pond.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 11 Oct. 2025
Don’t look now, but the wonks have come out with a way to measure how well AI entities do at forming relationships with people.
—John Werner, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wonks
Noun
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Rivers Comicon gives fans the chance to don their favorite costumes, connect with fellow nerds and meet the creators of beloved comic books.—
Finch Walker,
USA Today,
15 May 2026
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Thursday was a huge day for social media nerds and wannabe influencers masquerading as football fans.—
Austin Perry OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
15 May 2026
Noun
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Design geeks will love the adjacent historic cottages and wide stretch of coastline giving the setting a ye olde California postcard quality.—
Brock Keeling,
Oc Register,
13 May 2026
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Despite the smaller merits caseload, tax law geeks like me have been delighted to see high-profile tax cases reach the Court.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
9 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wonks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wonks. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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