: a person preoccupied with arcane details or procedures in a specialized field
Synonyms
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
The report is unlikely to circulate beyond Washington, where it was announced to the public—in reality, a room full of policy wonks.
—
Daniel Bessner, Foreign Affairs, 5 Apr. 2017
For years, the tennis wonks — and plenty of players — have preached the value of data and next-generation statistics to gauge quality.
—Matthew Futterman, The Athletic, 18 Apr. 2024
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
See all Example Sentences for wonk 
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.
Daniel Bessner, Foreign Affairs, 5 Apr. 2017
For years, the tennis wonks — and plenty of players — have preached the value of data and next-generation statistics to gauge quality.
—Matthew Futterman, The Athletic, 18 Apr. 2024
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
See all Example Sentences for wonk
Dictionary Entries Near wonk
Cite this Entry
“Wonk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wonk. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share