Meaning & use
wonk
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Meanings
nouncountableinformal
A person who takes a very serious interest in the details of a subject, especially politics or policy.
Grammar: Often follows the field: policy wonk, tech wonk.
Patterns
- a policy wonk
- a wonk about something
He is a policy wonk who reads every budget report.
She became a tech wonk after college.
The senator's staff included several health wonks.
nouncountableBritishdisapproving
A student who studies excessively, a slightly mocking word.
Grammar: Mainly British; in this sense it is mildly teasing.
Patterns
- a wonk at school
Her classmates called her a wonk for studying on weekends.
He was a bit of a wonk at school.
The wonk in our class answered every question.
Word forms
| plural | wonks |
|---|
Common combinations
- policy wonk
- The policy wonk explained the tax plan in detail.
- tech wonk
- A tech wonk fixed the server.
- budget wonk
- Budget wonks argued over the numbers.
- data wonk
- The data wonk built a dashboard.
- political wonk
- Political wonks watched the debate closely.
Synonyms and how they differ
- nerd
- Nerd stresses social awkwardness, while wonk stresses expertise in details.
- geek
- Geek suggests passion for a hobby like computers, while wonk suggests analytical, often policy work.
- expert
- Expert is neutral and formal, whereas wonk is informal and slightly teasing.
- boffin
- Boffin is British and means a scientist or technical specialist.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: wonk or wonky?
wonk vs wonky
Wonky means crooked or unreliable in British English, and is unrelated to being an expert.
Practice
The reporter interviewed a health-policy ___ who knew every detail of the new bill.
Choose one answer.
A wonk is someone who knows a subject in great detail. The other words only look similar.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “wonk”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.