Hi Olga - good question. Cramped can refer to any space that is too small for its needs. For example, "The boat is cramped" - the boat could have 3,000 people on it, so it is not small, but it is only supposed to have 2,000 people, so there is not enough space for everyone. In a room, "cramped" could be temporary (just when all of the family are inside) or permanent (so small, that it does not serve the function as a room and ALWAYS feels cramped). "POKEY" on the other hand is much more descriptive, to me. It is only a permanent adjective to describe a small, often dark and definitely undesirable room. A pokey room will be cramped, but it tells me more than just about the space - it maybe has a low ceiling, no window, etc too. I hope that helps. Tom

I think the difference must be regional preference. I had to look up "poky" -- I've never heard it used to describe a small or cramped room. I don't know if it's not commonly used in America, or just not commonly used in the parts of America where I've lived.

The main implication of "poky" is "low quality, inexpensive, cheap". So a poky room would be cramped, because low quality cheap rooms don't come with a lot of space. A poky room is probably also dirty and dusty, the wallpaper might be peeling, the lighting might be dim or flickering, and that sort of thing. Cramped only refers to the amount of space. Poky says more. That said, poky is an old fashioned word, and I don't know anyone who uses it anymore, even if I do understand it. You might see old movies, old books, or old cartoons that say poky, but it's not something most people would say today. It's possible that there are places that still commonly use the word, but not anywhere I've lived.