How to Use punky in a Sentence

punky

adjective
  • The punky style added a dose of fun to her casual fit, and also felt fresh.
    Christian Allaire, Vogue, 26 Sep. 2022
  • Weak Links More posh than punky, chunky chain-link bags are still trending.
    Sara Holzman, Marie Claire, 24 Sep. 2021
  • Despite the heightened venue, the band retained its punky ethos at the world’s most famous arena.
    William Earl, Variety, 19 Aug. 2023
  • From rising star Lashana Lynch’s red lip to Florence Pugh’s punky new image, here are the best beauty looks from the night.
    Tish Weinstock, Vogue, 14 Mar. 2022
  • Father Christmas himself takes it on the chin in this punky Kinks classic.
    Gwen Ihnat, EW.com, 21 Dec. 2022
  • Its best moments are those that detail how fans relate to the singer’s punky poetry.
    Dallas News, 25 Aug. 2022
  • Always one to add a punky twist, Rodrigo opted for a black mani-pedi, giving the look a vampy touch.
    Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 16 Aug. 2023
  • The punky, counterculture drink, sized like a tall boy and adorned with a melting skull, has drawn droves of fans on social media.
    Sam Stone, Bon Appétit, 29 Oct. 2022
  • The track builds to a hard-rocking stomp and, later, a punky gallop, but throughout, the sense of desolation remains.
    Hank Shteamer, SPIN, 24 Apr. 2023
  • Lau has short, punky hair and wore a surgical mask and a thrift-store jacket with straitjacket-style buckles.
    Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2020
  • Just ask Olivia Rodrigo, who has made the skirt suit her preppy, punky signature.
    Steff Yotka, Vogue, 11 Oct. 2021
  • For the latter track, Madonna sports a punky tailcoat by Findikoglu, inspired by an archival blazer that the singer wore for a performance in Japan back in the ’80s.
    Christian Allaire, Vogue, 16 Oct. 2023
  • Viv Westwood seemed the perfect, punky designer to be the [basis for] Cruella, but at the same time, Cruella is her own person.
    Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 30 Dec. 2022
  • Rock music can be punishingly punky and fast and loud, like Fishbone, or smooth and rich like the Doobie Brothers.
    Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 11 Sep. 2022
  • Sky Ferreira fans were starting to give up hope that the punky pop star would ever release new music again, but the day is finally here.
    Brittany Spanos, Rolling Stone, 25 May 2022
  • Yang partying with punky cyborgs when the family was away, or donning the orange socks and making out with Kyra in the laundry room.
    The New Yorker, 25 Feb. 2022
  • The show debuted last summer as a loopy crime caper, with a crew of teen petty larcenists staring down a rival gang of punky-cute badasses.
    Darren Franich, EW.com, 3 Aug. 2022
  • In reality, Pee-wee Herman was nothing like us at all, a dreamy man-child in a red bow tie whose sugary smile could curl into a punky scowl.
    Jason Zinoman, New York Times, 2 Aug. 2023
  • This year, the brand was reborn (and abbreviated, to Pellat-Finet) without the punky flourishes for which it was once known.
    Kareem Rashed, Robb Report, 19 Nov. 2022
  • In it, a weird little punky girl with the power to assume any form comes to a formidable warrior (voiced by Riz Ahmed) on the verge of knighthood before being framed for killing the queen.
    Michael Ordoña, Los Angeles Times, 15 Nov. 2023
  • For go-go beauty looks, models wore a blend of 90s polish mixed with punky rawness, a nod to the brand’s heritage, without being too referential.
    Kathleen Hou, ELLE, 9 Sep. 2023
  • The duo signed to two hip labels and became the toast of Brooklyn with Treats, a loud and brash combination of electronic beats and punky guitar riffs that Miller played live over programmed tracks at their live shows.
    Al Shipley, SPIN, 22 Feb. 2023
  • The singer-guitarist regularly checked in to make sure audience members were hydrated and doing okay, but didn’t let the heat keep her from packing in a punch with her band’s punky set.
    Annie Nickoloff, cleveland, 29 Aug. 2022
  • Brian Dunne’s Loser on the Ropes is one of the sleeper albums of the year, a collection of melodic yet punky dissertations on finding the perseverance to grow old — if not up.
    Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 7 Sep. 2023
  • Her cheeks are asymmetrically coated in a rusty shade of blush, and her cut crease has a punky, unblended look that works quite well with the unapologetic smudge of blue next to her eye and the flecks of black liner under her lashes.
    Marci Robin, Allure, 28 Oct. 2020
  • There were a variety of eyeliner designs, from a 70s punky rounded style to a straight eyeliner starting from the inner corner in an array of yellows, whites, and fuchsia.
    Kathleen Hou, ELLE, 9 Sep. 2023
  • This punky belt features an asymmetrical design, clasping at the waist with a circle hook and exposing the studded leather-like material below.
    Alyssa Brascia, Peoplemag, 15 Mar. 2023
  • Any book can be wielded as an accessory, but MTV’s paperbacks complemented a particular look, one that was punky and chic.
    Hazlitt, 4 May 2022
  • But her brand of feminism is more spunky than punky, its you-go-girl demonstrations lacking in anything like the ideological piss and vinegar that defined the movement imitated here.
    Charles Bramesco, Vulture, 23 Mar. 2021
  • During the first few years the quintet molded its trademark sound and style, mixing bold and colorful looks and dance moves with upbeat groove-heavy indie anthems complemented by punky harmonies and bright and playful ukulele and glockenspiel riffs.
    Candace Hansen, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'punky.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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