Wordsmith.org: the magic of words


A.Word.A.Day

About | Media | Search | Contact  


Home

Today's Word

Subscribe

Archives



Nov 16, 2021
This week’s theme
Words with opposite or contradictory meanings

This week’s words
farouche
dinky
shifty
endsville
presently


Bookmark and Share Facebook Twitter Digg MySpace Bookmark and Share
A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

dinky

PRONUNCIATION:
(DING-kee)

MEANING:
adjective:
1. (In the US) Small; insignificant; undesirable.
2. (In the UK) Attractively tiny; cute.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Scots dink (neat, trim). Earliest documented use: 1788.

USAGE:
“My hometown is a dinky place no one’s ever heard of, and it could use some philanthropic donations for the budget gaps.”
Kylie Gilmore; Rogue Beast; Extra Fancy Books; 2020.

“Ms [Ghislaine] Maxwell was invariably described as an ‘Oxford-educated British socialite’. She dropped dinky British phrases into her conversation.”
Fading Anglophilia; The Economist (London, UK); Jul 11, 2020.

See more usage examples of dinky in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
The sun will shine on those who stand before it shines on those who kneel under them. -Chinua Achebe, writer and professor (16 Nov 1930-2013)

We need your help

Help us continue to spread the magic of words to readers everywhere

Donate

Subscriber Services
Awards | Stats | Links | Privacy Policy
Contribute | Advertise

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith