funky
/fʌŋki/adjective
funky is spelled F-U-N-K-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 4.3 times per million words in written English, the 12,397th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, funky means “Offbeat, unconventional or eccentric” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in funky?
| Letters | 5: F-U-N-K-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.3 times per million words; the 12,397th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is funky?
Funky appears 4.3 times per million words in written English, the 12,397th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce funky?
- /fʌŋki/
Funky has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-funky.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of funky
- funkier comparative
- more funky comparative
- funkiest superlative
- most funky superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does funky mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
USslangOffbeat, unconventional or eccentric.
- 2
USslangNot quite right; of questionable quality; not appropriate to the context.
- 3
UKUSslangCool; great; excellent.
Eight-bit Arkanoid is a funky game – not as sexy as its 16-bit sister, but fun to spend time with. I'm hooked.
- 4
Having a foul or unpleasant smell.
- 5
Relating to or reminiscent of various genres of African American music, especially funk.
- 6
UKdatedslangRelating to, or characterized by, great fear, or funking.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does funky come from?
From funk + -y.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).