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kookish

Acting like a total kook — weird, eccentric, or a little unhinged in a charming or harmless way.

ˈkʊkɪʃ156 viewsLast reviewed Jun 29, 2026+ Add a definition
🗺️ Regional & Other
2 definitions
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#1·Apr 28, 2026

Acting like a total kook — weird, eccentric, or a little unhinged in a charming or harmless way. Kookish describes someone whose ideas, behavior, or vibe is delightfully off-center without being dangerous. It's gentler than calling someone crazy and more affectionate than calling them strange. You might use it for the neighbor who collects garden gnomes obsessively or the coworker who brings homemade crystals to every meeting.

She has some kookish theories about moon cycles affecting her sleep, but honestly she's never wrong about the weather.
Origin: Derived from 'kook', American slang for an eccentric or crazy person, likely from 'cuckoo' (the bird associated with madness). Editorial expansion authored on Slangora.
For parents

"kookish" means: Acting like a total kook — weird, eccentric, or a little unhinged in a charming or harmless way. Kookish describes someone whose ideas, beha.... This is a fairly neutral word with no inherent risk attached. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than something dangerous. If your child uses it, context will usually make the meaning clear. A brief, curious question about where they heard it is generally enough to know whether to follow up.

For ESL learners

"kookish" means: Acting like a total kook — weird, eccentric, or a little unhinged in a charming or harmless way. Kookish describes someone whose ideas, beha.... Register: neutral, standard English, usable in most everyday contexts. A common non-native mistake is to use the word in the wrong register, or to assume one fixed meaning when it is actually polysemous; always check the surrounding register and the audience before producing it yourself. In formal writing, prefer a neutral synonym or a short descriptive phrase, and use this word only when you have heard or read it being used naturally in a comparable context.

Cluster: weird
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#2·Apr 27, 2026

(slang, chiefly, US) Like a kook; eccentric.

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For specific readers

"kookish" means: Acting like a total kook — weird, eccentric, or a little unhinged in a charming or harmless way. Kookish describes someone whose ideas, beha.... This is a fairly neutral word with no inherent risk attached. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than something dangerous. If your child uses it, context will usually make the meaning clear. A brief, curious question about where they heard it is generally enough to know whether to follow up.

Why is this section here?

Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.

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🗺️About Regional & Other slang

Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.

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