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Synonyms

wobbly

1 American  
[wob-lee] / ˈwɒb li /
Or wabbly

adjective

wobblier, wobbliest

  1. shaky; unsteady.

Wobbly 2 American  
[wob-lee] / ˈwɒb li /

noun

plural

Wobblies

  1. a member of the Industrial Workers of the World.

wobbly 1 British  
/ ˈwɒblɪ /

adjective

  1. unsteady

  2. trembling, shaking

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. slang to become suddenly very agitated or angry

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Wobbly 2 British  
/ ˈwɒblɪ /

noun

  1. a member of the Industrial Workers of the World

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • wobbliness noun

Etymology

Origin of wobbly1

First recorded in 1850–55; wobble + -y 1

Origin of Wobbly2

An Americanism dating back to 1910–15; of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The late surge of momentum for Jordan puts him in a strong position ahead of the Oscars, but this is a wobbly and wide open category.

From BBC • Mar. 14, 2026

To be sure, stocks were looking wobbly even before the Iran conflict broke out.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 14, 2026

When my spoon broke through the wobbly layer of cheesy bread and resurfaced all gooey and molten, the winter suddenly didn’t seem so bad.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026

I let myself into the room and stepped into the bed, one foot at a time, the warm water inside the plastic sheet sloshing around and making me feel a bit wobbly.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026

Their honking voices echoed across the farm, and then the flock appeared above the fields, flying in a wobbly V formation.

From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.