: a person preoccupied with arcane details or procedures in a specialized field
broadly : nerd
a policy wonk
a computer wonk
wonkery noun
wonkish
ˈwäŋ-kish How to pronounce wonk (audio)
ˈwȯŋ-
adjective
wonkishness noun

Examples of wonk in a Sentence

the policy wonks in the government the candidate has an army of policy wonks ready to write for him a position paper on virtually any issue
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Using a raw dataset from a national survey taken in early October, the wonk found Harris is ahead by about 6 percentage points. Philip Elliott, TIME, 1 Nov. 2024 Now, Musk is seeking to move the issue out of the realm of policy wonks. Richard Nieva, Forbes, 1 Oct. 2024 At the same time, a growing chorus of policy wonks and public officials, including yours truly, have argued that Americans shouldn’t have to buy a college degree in order to find remunerative employment. Frederick Hess, Forbes, 18 Sep. 2024 Instead of adopting an oath of humility, economics has since churned out generations of model-wielding academics and policy wonks. Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak and Paul Swartz, TIME, 31 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for wonk 

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1954, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of wonk was in 1954

Dictionary Entries Near wonk

Cite this Entry

“Wonk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wonk. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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