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
But this will prove difficult for policymakers and wonks intent on measuring outcomes.
—
Michael B. Horn, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for wonk
Michael B. Horn, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for wonk
Cite this Entry
“Wonk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wonk. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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