wonk
pronunciation
How to pronounce wonk in British English:
UK [wɒŋk]
How to pronounce wonk in American English:
US [wɑŋk]
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- Noun:
- an insignificant student who is ridiculed as being affected or studying excessively
Word Origin
- wonk (n.)
- "overly studious person," 1962, earlier "effeminate male" (1954), American English student slang. Perhaps a shortening of British slang wonky "shaky, unreliable," or a variant of British slang wanker "masturbator." It seemed to rise into currency as a synonym for nerd late 1980s from Ivy League slang and was widely popularized 1993 during the presidency of Bill Clinton. Tom Wolfe (1988) described it as "an Eastern prep-school term referring to all those who do not have the 'honk' voice, i.e., all who are non-aristocratic."
Example
- 1. Indiana 's governor is a likeable wonk .
- 2. The international monetary fund ( let 's call it mr policy wonk ) sees it another .
- 3. Like a natural-born wonk .
- 4. But a new breed of policy wonk is having second thoughts .
- 5. He turned out to be a policy wonk with few interests outside washington .