kinky
Americanadjective
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full of kinks; closely twisted.
a kinky wire.
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(of hair) closely or tightly curled.
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Slang. marked by unconventional sexual preferences or behavior, as fetishism, sadomasochism, or the like.
adjective
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slang given to unusual, abnormal, or deviant sexual practices
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informal exhibiting unusual idiosyncrasies of personality; quirky; eccentric
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informal attractive or provocative in a bizarre way
kinky clothes
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tangled or tightly looped, as a wire or rope
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tightly curled, as hair
Other Word Forms
- kinkily adverb
- kinkiness noun
Etymology
Origin of kinky
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Philomina Kane, a hair-care content creator who goes by NaturallyPhilo, launched KIN — which stands for “Keep It Naturally” — in response to the lack of inclusive headwear for people with kinky and curly hair.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 2, 2022
But he also sought to give Black people choices in hairstyles, and as early as 1966 began experimenting with what the authors of “Hair Story” described as “a chemical process to turn kinky hair curly.”
From Washington Post • Jul. 7, 2022
“Until fairly recently, the Black person was self-conscious about his curly, kinky hair,” he told The New York Times in 1971.
From New York Times • Jul. 6, 2022
She, too, has seen how, over the past decade, there has been an extreme focus on encouraging women of African ancestry to celebrate their kinky, curly and coily hair texture.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 4, 2022
And while the beauty school lady was straightening my hair, I got to look at the big bank of mirrors and watch it transform from kinky to straight.
From "It All Comes Down to This" by Karen English
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
