crooked
adjective
crook·ed ˈkru̇-kəd 
1
: not straight
a crooked road
Your tie is crooked.
2
: dishonest
a crooked election
crooked politicians
crookedly adverb
crookedness noun
Synonyms
- bending
- crazy
- curled
- curling
- curved
- curving
- curvy
- devious
- serpentine
- sinuous
- tortuous
- twisted
- twisting
- winding
- windy
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
a long, crooked line of people had formed in front of the ticket booth the common belief that gambling casinos are often crooked businesses
Recent Examples on the Web Our jaws are now smaller and weaker from disuse, our teeth more crowded and crooked. 
Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 13 Sep. 2022 Even as old-school reporting jobs dwindled, German’s watchdog articles and columns pried back the curtain on mobsters, crooked politicians, casino titans, and just about anyone who misused wealth or power in the city. Mike Baker, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Sep. 2022 One was a sergeant with a shaved head whose uniform was half untucked and missing buttons, his necktie ripped and crooked. Luke Mogelson, The New Yorker, 10 Sep. 2022 In another, the car was parked crooked in the space (but still between the lines), and got towed. Hartford Courant, 6 Sep. 2022 Everyone who treats Trump well is good and constitutional; everyone who acts against him is bad and crooked. Matt Ford, The New Republic, 6 Sep. 2022 Employees with the Portland Housing Bureau, however, still authorized the crooked transaction, records show, marking the largest theft of public funds in the city’s history. Shane Dixon Kavanaugh | The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive, 22 Aug. 2022 The only way to reach Cornello dei Tasso is via a 30-minute walk along a crooked path. Silvia Marchetti, CNN, 11 Aug. 2022 But don’t be too quick to declare an unbalanced tree doomed, because not all crooked trees are dying. Samantha Chery, Washington Post, 2 Aug. 2022 See More
Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 13 Sep. 2022 Even as old-school reporting jobs dwindled, German’s watchdog articles and columns pried back the curtain on mobsters, crooked politicians, casino titans, and just about anyone who misused wealth or power in the city. Mike Baker, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Sep. 2022 One was a sergeant with a shaved head whose uniform was half untucked and missing buttons, his necktie ripped and crooked. Luke Mogelson, The New Yorker, 10 Sep. 2022 In another, the car was parked crooked in the space (but still between the lines), and got towed. Hartford Courant, 6 Sep. 2022 Everyone who treats Trump well is good and constitutional; everyone who acts against him is bad and crooked. Matt Ford, The New Republic, 6 Sep. 2022 Employees with the Portland Housing Bureau, however, still authorized the crooked transaction, records show, marking the largest theft of public funds in the city’s history. Shane Dixon Kavanaugh | The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive, 22 Aug. 2022 The only way to reach Cornello dei Tasso is via a 30-minute walk along a crooked path. Silvia Marchetti, CNN, 11 Aug. 2022 But don’t be too quick to declare an unbalanced tree doomed, because not all crooked trees are dying. Samantha Chery, Washington Post, 2 Aug. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
see crook entry 2
First Known Use
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
crooked
adjective
crook·ed ˈkru̇-kəd
1
: having bends and curves
a crooked path
2
: not set or placed straight
The picture is crooked.
3
: dishonest
a crooked card game
crooked 1 of 2
adjective
1
as in curved
marked by a long series of irregular curves a long, crooked line of people had formed in front of the ticket booth Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- curved
- twisted
- curving
- winding
- twisting
- serpentine
- bending
- tortuous
- jagged
- devious
- curvy
- curled
- sinuous
- curling
- windy
- crazy
- zigzag
- uneven
- spiral
- zigzagging
- coiled
- spiraling
- swirling
- circling
- irregular
- indirect
- coiling
- meandering
- looping
- wandering
- corkscrew
- roundabout
- rambling
- circuitous
- spiralling
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- straight
- linear
- direct
- straightaway
2
as in fraudulent
given to or marked by cheating and deception the common belief that gambling casinos are often crooked businesses Synonyms & Similar Words
- fraudulent
- deceptive
- shady
- dishonest
- bent
- rogue
- shifty
- duplicitous
- fast
- underhanded
- false
- guileful
- sharp
- underhand
- treacherous
- unscrupulous
- deceitful
- artful
- unprincipled
- deceiving
- double-dealing
- unethical
- cunning
- wily
- slick
- sly
- slippery
- crafty
- subtle
- devious
- foxy
- unconscionable
- sneaky
- delusive
- beguiling
- defrauding
- tricky
- cagey
- delusory
- perfidious
- insidious
- furtive
- deluding
- cagy
- sneaking
- trickish
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- straight
- honest
- upright
- honorable
- ethical
- scrupulous
- decent
- conscientious
- just
- aboveboard
- straightforward
- forthright
3
as in tilted
inclined or twisted to one side the photo on that wall is crooked Synonyms & Similar Words
- tilted
- uneven
- oblique
- askew
- slanted
- lopsided
- skewed
- slanting
- aslant
- awry
- tipping
- distorted
- cockeyed
- slantwise
- atilt
- crazy
- pitched
- listing
- off-kilter
- asymmetrical
- off plumb
- out of plumb
- unsymmetrical
- unbalanced
- contorted
- irregular
- disordered
- cock-a-hoop
- asymmetric
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- straight
- regular
- even
- level
- uniform
- orderly
- symmetrical
- symmetric
- balanced
- ordered
4
as in dishonest
marked by, based on, or done by the use of dishonest methods to acquire something of value a crooked scheme to bill the government for medical services never performed Synonyms & Similar Words
- fraudulent
- dishonest
- deceptive
- false
- deceitful
- defrauding
- misleading
- duplicitous
- deceiving
- double-dealing
- beguiling
- delusive
- specious
- delusory
- fallacious
- deluding
- spurious
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- honest
- truthful
- legitimate
- true
- aboveboard
- valid
crooked
2 of 2verb
1
as in arched
to cause to turn away from a straight line crooked a finger Synonyms & Similar Words
- arched
- hooked
- curved
- twisted
- bent
- bowed
- curled
- turned
- rounded
- swerved
- waved
- kinked
- weaved
- warped
- deflected
- swirled
- arced
- reflected
- veered
- incurved
- diverted
- inflected
- coiled
- dented
- entwined
- sloped
- dimpled
- looped
- twined
- inclined
- spiraled
- wound
- incurvated
- meandered
- enrolled
- spiralled
- winded
- declined
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- straightened
- uncurled
- unbent
2
as in rounded
to turn away from a straight line or course the road suddenly crooked to the left Synonyms & Similar Words
- curved
- arched
- rounded
- bent
- bowed
- swept
- fell off
- arced
- turned
- hooked
- curled
- swerved
- wheeled
- winded
- looped
- twisted
- circled
- coiled
- trended
- spiraled
- curlicued
- wound
- deviated
- spiralled
- veered
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- straightened