crookedness
/'krukidnis/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- The quality or state of being crooked: This refers to the physical condition of not being straight, having curves, bends, or angles.
- Deceitfulness; lack of honesty or straightforwardness: This refers to a figurative, moral quality of being dishonest, underhanded, or not direct.
Examples of Usage
- Physical crookedness:
- The crookedness of the old tree's branches made it difficult to climb.
- The carpenter measured the crookedness of the board before planing it straight.
- Moral crookedness:
- The politician's crookedness was finally exposed by the investigation.
- I was shocked by the sheer crookedness of the scheme.
Advanced Usage
- "A mind of moral crookedness": This phrase emphasizes a deeply ingrained tendency toward dishonesty.
- The fraud was not a simple mistake but the product of a mind of moral crookedness.
Variants and Related Words
- Crooked (adj): Not straight; bent or curved. Also, dishonest.
- a crooked path (a winding path)
- a crooked dealer (a dishonest dealer)
- Crook (n): A bend or curve. Also, a dishonest person or criminal.
- She carried the bag in the crook of her arm.
- The police arrested the crook.
Synonyms
- For physical crookedness: curvature, bend, twist, tortuousness, contortion.
- For moral crookedness: dishonesty, deceitfulness, underhandedness, deviousness, corruption.
Related Phrases
- "The straight and narrow": This common idiom, meaning the honest and morally correct way of life, is often contrasted with the concept of "crookedness."
- After his release from prison, he tried to stay on the straight and narrow.
Notes on Different Meanings
The word crookedness clearly separates into two distinct meanings: 1. A literal, physical description of shape (e.g., a road's crookedness). 2. A figurative, moral judgment on character or action (e.g., a person's crookedness). The context of the sentence always makes it clear which meaning is intended.
Noun
- the quality of being deceitful and underhanded
- having or distinguished by crooks or curves or bends or angles
- a tortuous and twisted shape or position
- they built a tree house in the tortuosities of its boughs
- the acrobat performed incredible contortions