wacky

adjective

ˈwa-kē 

variants or less commonly whacky

wackier also whackier; wackiest also whackiest

: absurdly or amusingly eccentric or irrational

wacky ideas

a wacky comedian

wackily

ˈwa-kə-lē 

adverb

wackiness

ˈwa-kē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• bizarre
• bizarro
• cranky
• crazy
• curious
• eccentric
• erratic
• far-out
• funky
• funny
• kinky
• kooky
• kookie
• odd
• off-kilter
• off-the-wall
• offbeat
• out-of-the-way
• outlandish
• outré
• peculiar
• quaint
• queer
• queerish
• quirky
• remarkable
• rum [chiefly British]
• screwy
• spaced-out
• strange
• way-out
• weird
• weirdo
• wild

Examples of wacky in a Sentence

My wacky aunt takes a swim before the lake freezes every winter.

the wacky world of his imagination

Recent Examples on the Web

The stakes are too high for geopolitical opportunism, ideological gamesmanship or wacky Trumpian madness. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 30 Jan. 2025

In terms of other complaints, well, English clearly isn't the J20's first language, and some of the voice prompts are a bit wacky. —New Atlas, 28 Jan. 2025

When Basil shares with him one of his wacky short stories, Peter always finds something nice to say, no matter how trivial. —Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2025

The segment eventually ran, complete with a newscaster making wacky comments about other news stories buffering it. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 27 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

perhaps from English dialect whacky fool

First Known Use

1930, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

wacky

adjective

ˈwak-ē 

wackier; wackiest

: amusing and very strange

wackily

ˈwak-ə-lē

adverb

wackiness

ˈwak-ē-nəs

noun