as in nerd
a person slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits
the candidate has an army of policy wonks ready to write for him a position paper on virtually any issue
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Recent Examples of wonk
The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 spent most of the first year of its existence in relative obscurity, known primarily by policy wonks.
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Brady Knox, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 29 July 2024
The surprise price decline is seismic news, at least among econ wonks and a narrow strata of reporters who follow this stuff with the fervor of a tween Swiftie.
—Allison Morrow, CNN, 12 July 2024
More surprising is the finding that in-house legal departments, famous for being the most risk-averse wonks within an organization, are big on AI.
—Byjohn Kell, Fortune, 3 July 2024
In Washington, some wonks have worried that the United States’ extensive backing of Ukraine’s war effort has hamstrung its ability to bolster Taiwan’s defense.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 1 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for wonk 
Brady Knox, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 29 July 2024
The surprise price decline is seismic news, at least among econ wonks and a narrow strata of reporters who follow this stuff with the fervor of a tween Swiftie.
—Allison Morrow, CNN, 12 July 2024
More surprising is the finding that in-house legal departments, famous for being the most risk-averse wonks within an organization, are big on AI.
—Byjohn Kell, Fortune, 3 July 2024
In Washington, some wonks have worried that the United States’ extensive backing of Ukraine’s war effort has hamstrung its ability to bolster Taiwan’s defense.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 1 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for wonk
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Cite this Entry
“Wonk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wonk. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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