Dictionary

whackjob en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈ(h)wækd͡ʒɑb/ (General-American)
• /ˈwækd͡ʒɒb/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (US) audio

Etymology

From whack(y) + job(bie).

Meanings

1. (colloquial, derogatory) A crazy, possibly dangerous, person.
   • 2004: Mark. St. Amant, Committed: Confessions of a Fantasy Football Junkie Ronald Reagan took his oath as the fortieth president in American history and, three months later, took a bullet from some wackjob trying to impress the future star of The Silence of the Lambs.
   • "He called the guy who owns the gun shop a 'whackjob' and said he's going to take him down if it's the last thing he does." 1992, Elmore Leonard, Rum Punch:
   • One of America's most prominent Confederistas is Michael Hill, head whackjob at the looney League of the South—an obscure organization that has already declared southern cultural independence. 2003, Michael Graham, Redneck Nation: How the South Really Won the War:
   • Then there's another typical whackjob republican, JD "Heartbeat Away" Vance. He's also just the kind that his voters love, dumb, psychotic, and a real user, not to mention the usual racist douchebaggery that always seems to go with being a republican. 2025 December 1, Noah, “Midnight Meme Of The Day! How Republican Leadership Spent The Week Of Thanksgiving”, in DownWithTyranny, archived from the original on 23 Dec 2025:

Forms

Synonyms

freak (crazy, possibly dangerous person) · nutter (crazy, possibly dangerous person) · wingnut (crazy, possibly dangerous person) · loony (crazy, possibly dangerous person) · nutjob (crazy, possibly dangerous person) · basket case (crazy, possibly dangerous person) · screwball (crazy, possibly dangerous person) · wacko (crazy, possibly dangerous person)