wingnut en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈwɪŋˌnʌt/
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
From wing + nut. The political sense is a shortening of "right-wing nut".
Meanings
- A deciduous tree of the genus Pterocarya native to Asia.
-
(derogatory, informal) A person who is or seems odd, eccentric, or crazy; especially, someone with bizarre or extreme political views.
We are witnessing a wingnut war break out in American politics, organized on the Internet and fought out in airwaves and in town halls, wingnuts firing their shots from the outer reaches and strafing the common sense center.
2009 October 7, John Avlon, “Avlon: Extremism in danger of acceptance”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), Special to CNN:On November 21, evangelist Franklin Graham (son of the late Rev. Billy Graham and a strident Trump supporter) discussed impeachment when he appeared on fellow wingnut Eric Metaxas’ radio show.
2019 November 27, Alex Henderson, AlterNet:Near-synonyms: nut, nut job, nut case, crank, weirdo; see also Thesaurus:strange person, Thesaurus:mad person
Arab oil tyrants and the Bee Gees were all making out like bandits, and a bunch of very well-funded cranks and wingnuts were about to fall backasswards into a pot of gold.
2026 June 3, John Birmingham, “Neoliberalism ate the world. Enter: Pauline Hanson”, in Crikey:He was elected, wingnut raised and corn fed / Teabags dragging on the chamber floor / He did what he had to do to get southern boys to vote for you / To grease the wheels to get you in the door
2014, “The Part of Him”, in Patterson Hood (lyrics), English Oceans, performed by Drive-By Truckers:
- (qualifier:rural US, slang) A member of the air force (in a town that hosts a USAF installation).
- (informal, slang) A person with large ears.
-
(alt-of, alternative) Alternative form of wing nut (“(mechanical) nut with wing-like projections”).
alt of wing nut
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| wingnuts | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Caucasian wingnut · wingnutosphere · wingnutty · wingnuttery
Hypernyms
Relateds
militant · utopian · fundamentalist · left-winger · moonbat · idealist · right-winger · radical · extremist
Synonyms
psycho · bizarro · whacko · wack · nutjob · space case · nut ball · nutbag · wingnut · crackpot · loony tune · weirdo · madcap · nut · weirdo · unconventional · pterocarya · crank · nutter · nutbar · hard case · nut job · wacko · wackadoodle · basket case · loony · freak · nutburger · oddball · wingnut · coot · space pilot · wild man · eccentric · strange bird · strangeling · wacko · odd duck · lunatic · rum · dingbat · crazyhead · madhead · crack · nut case · crank · crackpot · crazy · fruit loop · weirdling · nutter · wackadoo · kook · fruit and nut case · glaik · odd bod · queerdo · nutbar · nutcase · fruitloop · fruit cake · strange fish · queer fish · eccentric · head case · mental case · whackjob · schizo · basket weaver · weirdie · odd fish · nutcase · weirdo · screwball · oddity · live one · space cadet · psychoceramic · kook · nut
Translations (22)
ru экстреми́ст ((slang) one with extreme or radical political views) · cy cnau adeiniog (genus Pterocarya (botany)) · fa لرگ (genus Pterocarya (botany)) · de Flügelnuss (genus Pterocarya (botany)) · fi kummajainen (odd, eccentric, and/or extreme person) · fa کهل (genus Pterocarya (botany)) · ru крылооре́шник (genus Pterocarya (botany)) · fi hörhö (odd, eccentric, and/or extreme person) · pl skrzydłorzech (genus Pterocarya (botany)) · fi siipipähkinä (genus Pterocarya (botany)) · eo ekstremisto ((slang) one with extreme or radical political views) · ru фрик (odd, eccentric, and/or extreme person) · eo radikalulo ((slang) one with extreme or radical political views) · ka ლაფანი (genus Pterocarya (botany)) · ru ебанат (odd, eccentric, and/or extreme person) · ru птерока́рия (genus Pterocarya (botany)) · xmf ლეფონი (genus Pterocarya (botany)) · de Spinner (odd, eccentric, and/or extreme person) · ru чуда́к (odd, eccentric, and/or extreme person) · fa لرک (genus Pterocarya (botany)) · ru радика́л ((slang) one with extreme or radical political views) · ru лапи́на (genus Pterocarya (botany))