How to Use wonky in a Sentence

wonky

adjective
  • Still, things were at times wonky.
    — Paul Brady, Travel + Leisure, 9 May 2026
  • Some of them seem tied to wonky footwork.
    — Alec Lewis, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2025
  • Next, things went a little wonky.
    — Michael Lydick, PC Magazine, 2 May 2026
  • And the lines were kind of wonky and weird and sort of like punchlines.
    — Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 14 Apr. 2026
  • Then the game got a little wonky with their junk defenses.
    — Khobi Price, Oc Register, 1 Dec. 2025
  • Emerson’s polling also looks wonky.
    — Keith Naughton, The Washington Examiner, 14 Mar. 2026
  • An exit code proves wonky and shuts down the apartment, locking Nemo in.
    — Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 13 Mar. 2023
  • Lighting is an issue, as the west side temporaries are wonky.
    — oregonlive, 4 Sep. 2022
  • No screwing in a front tire, or plugging in a wonky battery, or fiddling with squeaky brakes.
    — Adrienne So, WIRED, 20 Nov. 2023
  • Things are going to be a bit wonky for the rest of the year in the NFL.
    — Chris Morris, Fortune, 17 Dec. 2022
  • Boone also adored Sterling’s home run calls, which were often wonky and full of puns.
    — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 4 May 2026
  • Here are details on the jars of lemon curd that taste like spring in a jar, and the dull, wonky pastes that are best left on the shelf.
    — Jolene Thym, Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2026
  • Johnson is the latest celebrity to get a wonky wax figure of themselves.
    — Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2023
  • If this seems like wonky stuff for a 100-minute play, that is an appropriate view.
    — David John Chávez, The Mercury News, 13 Mar. 2024
  • Miranda's wonky phone went off, halting filming and earning her glares from the crew.
    — Jp Mangalindan, Peoplemag, 29 June 2023
  • There was also the matter of syncing up the sound and picture, which turned out to be an even more wonky set of hoops to jump through.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2023
  • Even given the wonky sound, Sheeran’s voice never wavered.
    — Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 14 June 2026
  • The wonky solar panel still hasn’t unfolded all the way, and engineers don’t yet know why.
    — Marina Koren, The Atlantic, 28 Oct. 2021
  • Plus, anything that gets you away from the wonky touch controls in favor of a physical controller is the way to go.
    — Samuel Axon, Ars Technica, 21 Nov. 2023
  • Oppenheimer is one of those shoot-for-the-moon projects that feels thrilling and wonky, brilliant and overstuffed, too much and yet not enough.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 19 July 2023
  • There’s little room for our wine glasses or the cups that hold the last sips of a compellingly wonky lima bean cocktail.
    — Caroline Hatchett, Robb Report, 28 June 2023
  • For wonky furniture that’s seen better days, take the time to repair, re-stain, or recycle it.
    — Gemma Johnstone, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Sep. 2023
  • Best Luggage Deals This is your sign to retire the suitcase with the wonky wheel.
    — Chaise Sanders, Travel + Leisure, 26 Feb. 2026
  • Baxter was obviously slumming in the teen market, as his songs are all wonky and askew—a square’s take on hip tunes.
    — Stephen Deusner, SPIN, 22 Jan. 2024
  • Just like a wonky fuel pump or window motor, try tapping on it while a helper is operating the trim switch.
    — John Paul Senior Manager Public Affairs and Traffic Safety Aaa Northeast, Hartford Courant, 24 Jan. 2026
  • But machines are still wonky at exerting just the right amount of force to control tools that aren’t rigidly attached to their hands.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 27 Oct. 2022
  • Imagine how much worse things would've looked if not for Will Lutz and his wonky — but true — 57-yard field-goal make.
    — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 12 Oct. 2025
  • On Friday, expect lots of wonky debate about the strengths and weaknesses of each of those studies.
    — Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, 14 Sep. 2021
  • In all his films, Johnson walks a fine line between wonky puzzle-making and telling a story that moves people.
    — Anna Russell, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2025
  • In the seventh millennium BCE, things went wonky for a while.
    — Ben Ehrenreich, The New Republic, 10 May 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wonky.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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