adj
Meaning 1
Lopsided, misaligned or off-centre.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: awry, misaligned, skew-whiff
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
wonky
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
-
Received-Pronunciation: /ˈwɒŋ.kɪ/
-
General-American: wŏngʹkē
-
General-American: /ˈwɑŋ.ki/
-
General-American: /ˈwɔŋ.ki/
-
US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
-
Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
-
rhymes with -ɒŋki
adj
Meaning 2
Feeble, shaky or rickety.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Australia, Ireland, New-Zealand, UK
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: rickety
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Meaning 3
Suffering from intermittent bugs.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: informal
Topics: computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: buggy, broken
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Meaning 4
Generally incorrect.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: informal
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Meaning 5
Technically worded, in the style of jargon.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Meaning 6
Technical in nature, difficult for non-specialists to understand.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 7
A subgenre of electronic music employing unstable rhythms, complex time signatures, and mid-range synths.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
Topics: entertainment, lifestyle, music
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adjective satellite
Meaning 8
inclined to shake as from weakness or defect
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- a rickety table
- a wobbly chair with shaky legs
- the ladder felt a little wobbly
- the bridge still stands though one of the arches is wonky
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: rickety, shaky, wobbly
Antonyms: none provided
adjective satellite
Meaning 9
turned or twisted toward one side- G.K.Chesterton
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- a...youth with a gorgeous red necktie all awry
- his wig was, as the British say, skew-whiff
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: askew, awry(p), cockeyed, lopsided, skew-whiff
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
From English dialectal wanky, alteration of Middle English wankel (“unstable, shaky”), from Old English wancol (“unstable”), from Proto-West Germanic *wankul (“swaying, shaky, unstable”).
Etymology tree English wonk Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English wonky From wonk + -y.
Across languages
Translations
5 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Spanish: chueco — misaligned
- Czech: rozviklaný — shaky
- Czech: viklavý — shaky
- Czech: vachrlatý — shaky
- Czech: vratký — shaky