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CROOKED
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Having the back and shoulders rounded; not erect
Example:
a little oldish misshapen stooping woman
Synonyms:
crooked; hunched; round-backed; round-shouldered; stooped; stooping
Classified under:
Similar:
unerect (not upright in position or posture)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Irregular in shape or outline
Example:
a dress with a crooked hemline
Synonyms:
asymmetrical; crooked
Classified under:
Similar:
irregular (contrary to rule or accepted order or general practice)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Having or marked by bends or angles; not straight or aligned
Example:
crooked teeth
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
zig-zag; zigzag (having short sharp turns or angles)
wry (bent to one side)
windblown (used especially of trees; growing in a shape determined by the prevailing winds)
warped (used especially of timbers or boards; bent out of shape usually by moisture)
tortuous; twisting; twisty; voluminous; winding (marked by repeated turns and bends)
squiggly (wavy and twisting)
reflexed ((of leaves) bent downward and outward more than 90 degrees)
malposed (characterized by malposition)
gnarled; gnarly; knobbed; knotted; knotty (used of old persons or old trees; covered with knobs or knots)
geniculate (bent at a sharp angle)
deflective; refractive (capable of changing the direction (of a light or sound wave))
contorted; writhed; writhen (twisted (especially as in pain or struggle))
askew; awry; cockeyed; lopsided; skew-whiff; wonky (turned or twisted toward one side)
aquiline; hooked (curved down like an eagle's beak)
anfractuous (full of twists and turns)
akimbo ((used of arms and legs) bent outward with the joint away from the body)
Also:
indirect (not direct in spatial dimension; not leading by a straight line or course to a destination)
coiled (curled or wound (especially in concentric rings or spirals))
Attribute:
configuration; conformation; contour; form; shape (any spatial attributes (especially as defined by outline))
Antonym:
straight (having no deviations)
Derivation:
crookedness (having or distinguished by crooks or curves or bends or angles)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Not straight; dishonest or immoral or evasive
Synonyms:
corrupt; crooked
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
sneaky; underhand; underhanded (marked by deception)
Also:
dishonest; dishonorable (deceptive or fraudulent; disposed to cheat or defraud or deceive)
unlawful (contrary to or prohibited by or defiant of law)
Attribute:
honestness; honesty (the quality of being honest)
Antonym:
straight (characterized by honesty and fairness)
Derivation:
crookedness (the quality of being deceitful and underhanded)
II. (verb)
Sense 1
Past simple / past participle of the verb crook
Context examples:
It is remarkable only for the fact that amid a perfect jungle of possibilities we, with our worthy collaborator, the inspector, have kept our close hold on the essentials and so been guided along the crooked and winding path.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Mr. Cutter was in a hurry and said 'No', rather crossly, so she was going away, looking hungry and sorry, when Mr. Laurence hooked up a big fish with the crooked end of his cane and held it out to her.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
So horrid was the causeless rage of the crooked creature, that the clerk came over a cold thrill, and took to his heels until he was out of shot from stone or word.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
“So my smile is crooked?” he queried a short while after.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
By the light of the fire he crooked his fingers slowly and repeatedly now one at a time, now all together, spreading them wide or making quick gripping movements.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
He made her no answer; and only observed, after again examining the room, that it was very low pitched, and that the ceiling was crooked.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
With his face turned towards me, as he finished, but without looking at me, he took his crooked thumb off the spot where he had planted it, and slowly and thoughtfully scraped his lank jaw with it, as if he were shaving himself.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
Did you not spy a crooked man upon the beach?
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Then, said Mrs. Micawber, who prided herself on taking a clear view of things, and keeping Mr. Micawber straight by her woman's wisdom, when he might otherwise go a little crooked, then I ask myself this question.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
Why do they not get to work and dig up these long rows of black and crooked stumps which I see on every hand?
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
