hinky
/ˈhɪŋki/adjective
hinky is spelled H-I-N-K-Y: 5 letters. It appears about once in every 17 million words in written English, the 122,704th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, hinky means “Acting suspiciously; strange, unusual; acting in a manner as if having something to hide, or seemingly crooked” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in hinky?
| Letters | 5: H-I-N-K-Y |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 17 million words; the 122,704th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is hinky?
Hinky appears about once in every 17 million words in written English, the 122,704th 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 hinky?
- /ˈhɪŋki/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-hinky.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of hinky
- hinkier comparative
- more hinky comparative
- hinkiest superlative
- most hinky superlative
- hinkey
- hinkty
- hincty
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hinky mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
colloquialActing suspiciously; strange, unusual; acting in a manner as if having something to hide, or seemingly crooked.
I thought he might be acting hinky.
- 2
colloquialSuspicious (of something).
- 3
colloquialDishonest; sketchy; shady
- 4
colloquialderogatoryWeird; nonstandard.
- 5
colloquialUnreliable; wonky
- 6
colloquialSnobbish; haughty
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does hinky come from?
Possibly from obsolete Scots hink, from Old Norse hinka (“to limp or hobble”), probably not from Old English inca (“doubt; suspicion”). Possibly from hank (“a loop or coil or anything that curbs or restrains”). Possibly from African-American usage: hincty or hinkty.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).