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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If a group of AI nerds could get into Mythos – allegedly without malicious intent – imagine the fallout if the next ones to slide through that door were actual criminals.—
Stefanie Schappert,
Fortune,
24 Apr. 2026
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Today’s books come in all shapes and sizes, with several indie producers creating high-quality products for proud paper nerds.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Such comes with a 12-game win streak and computer numbers that make even the geeks party on Broadway.—
Noah White,
Miami Herald,
14 Mar. 2026
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Part sports hangout, part brewpub, The Ram is the sort of wide-net concept that draws families, high school football fans and — back when craft IPAs were cool — even beer geeks.—
Michael Deeds,
Idaho Statesman,
4 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wonks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wonks. Accessed 30 Apr. 2026.
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