shaky

[shey-kee]

adjective

shakier, shakiest 

1. tending to shake or tremble.

2. trembling; tremulous.

3. liable to break down or give way; insecure; not to be depended upon.

   a shaky bridge.

4. wavering, as in allegiance.

   His loyalty, always shaky, was now nonexistent.

shaky

/ ˈʃeɪkɪ /

adjective

1. tending to shake or tremble

2. liable to prove defective; unreliable

3. uncertain or questionable

   your arguments are very shaky

Other Word Forms

• shakily adverb
• shakiness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of shaky¹

First recorded in 1695–1705; shake + -y ¹

Example Sentences

The Giants’ defense is solid and pressures the passer, but the offense is shaky and just lost Cam Skattebo.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Both are a bit shakier in their execution than some of Mr. Carpenter’s previous efforts, but they’re also filled with memorably eerie moods and pictures.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Well, they just did, at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night, complete with headaches, nausea and the shaky feeling of impending doom.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Even the embrace of shakier solutions reflects this deeper impulse.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"Biya now has a notably shaky mandate given many of his own citizens don't believe he won the election," Murithi Mutiga, Africa Program Director at the International Crisis Group, said in a statement.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• insecure 
• jittery 
• nervous 
• precarious 
• rickety 
• rocky 
• unsettled 
• unstable 
• unsteady 
• weak 
• wobbly