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Webster 1913 Edition


Crooked

Crook′ed

(kr??k′?d)
,
Adj.
1.
Characterized by a crook or curve; not straight; turning; bent; twisted; deformed.
Crooked paths.”
Locke.
he is deformed,
crooked
, old, and sere.
Shakespeare
2.
Not straightforward; deviating from rectitude; distorted from the right.
They are a perverse and
crooked
generation.
Deut. xxxii. 5.
3.
False; dishonest; fraudulent;
as,
crooked
dealings
.
Crooked whisky
,
whisky on which the payment of duty has been fraudulently evaded.
[Slang, U.S.]
Barlett.

Webster 1828 Edition


Crooked

CROOKED

,
pp.
or a.
1.
Bent; curved; curving; winding.
2.
Winding in moral conduct; devious; froward; perverse; going out of the path of rectitude; given to obliquity or wandering from duty.
They are a perverse and crooked generation. Deuteronomy 32.

Definition 2024


crooked

crooked

English

Pronunciation

  • Verb form: enPR: kro͝okt, IPA(key): /krʊkt/

Verb

crooked

  1. simple past tense and past participle of crook

Etymology 2

From Middle English croked, crokid, past participle of croken (to crook, bend). Cognate with Danish kroget (crooked). More at crook.

Pronunciation

  • Adjective: enPR: kro͝ok'ĭd, IPA(key): /ˈkrʊkɪd/

Adjective

crooked (comparative more crooked, superlative most crooked)

  1. Not straight; having one or more bends or angles.
    We walked up the crooked path to the top of the hill.
  2. Set at an angle; not vertical or square.
    That picture is crooked - could you straighten it up for me?
  3. (figuratively) Dishonest or illegal; corrupt.
    He was trying to interest me in another one of his crooked deals.
    • 2004, Peter Bondanella, Hollywood Italians: Dagos, Palookas, Romeos, Wise Guys, and Sopranos, chapter 4, 173–174:
      During the height of Italian immigration in the United States and in New York City, gangs flourished not only because of poverty but also because of political and social corruption. Policemen and politicians were often as crooked as the gang leaders themselves.
Translations