wobbly

¹ American  

[wob-lee] / ˈwɒb li /

Or wabbly

adjective

wobblier, wobbliest

1. shaky; unsteady.

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Wobbly ² American  

[wob-lee] / ˈwɒb li /

noun

plural

Wobblies

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

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wobbly ¹ British  

/ ˈwɒblɪ /

adjective

1. unsteady

2. trembling, shaking

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noun

1. slang to become suddenly very agitated or angry

Wobbly ² British  

/ ˈwɒblɪ /

noun

1. a member of the Industrial Workers of the World

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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

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

Now the industry limps along by focusing on artificial intelligence; private equity also has experienced setbacks and looks even wobblier to me.

From The Wall Street Journal

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

Scheffler again looked wobbly on his first few holes, including a bogey on the 13th, but after a run of birdies he chipped in from 65 yards for an eagle on the seventh.

From Barron's

What about the French team’s wobbly step sequence?

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• insecure
• precarious
• rickety
• unbalanced
• uneven
• unstable
• unsteady
• weak