Dictionary

shaky en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈʃeɪki/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *skek-der. Proto-Germanic *skakaną Proto-West Germanic *skakan Old English sċacan Middle English schaken English shake English -y English shaky From shake + -y.

Meanings

1. Shaking or trembling.
   • a shaky spot in a marsh
   • a shaky hand
2. Nervous, anxious.
   • He’s a nice guy but when he talks to me, he acts shaky.
   • Villa had plenty of opportunities to make the game safe after a shaky start and despite not reaching any great heights, they were resolute enough to take control of the game in the second half. 2011 April 10, Alistair Magowan, “Aston Villa 1 - 0 Newcastle”, in BBC Sport:
   • For the college clinician, restless nights after letting a shaky student walk out of the office are an occupational hazard. Are the student's safety assurances credible? Will he or she make it safely through the weekend? 2006, Paul A. Grayson, Philip W. Meilman, College Mental Health Practice, page 11:
3. (of wood) Full of shakes or cracks; cracked.
   • For quotations using this term, see Citations:shaky.
   • shaky timber
4. Easily shaken; tottering; unsound.
   • shaky business credit
   • a shaky constitution
   • Brzozowski, arguing from a shaky factual basis, challenged both these axioms and proposed an interpretation of his own which is remarkably close to the philosophic outlook of Marx's early writings that have since come to light. 1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume II: The Golden Age, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: rozwój (in Polish), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 237:
5. Wavering; undecided.

Forms

Deriveds

shakily · on shaky ground · shakiness · shakycam

Synonyms

unstable (not held or fixed securely and likely to fall over) · precarious (not held or fixed securely and likely to fall over) · unsteady (not held or fixed securely and likely to fall over) · tottering (not held or fixed securely and likely to fall over) · unsafe (not held or fixed securely and likely to fall over) · wobbly (not held or fixed securely and likely to fall over) · rickety (not held or fixed securely and likely to fall over)

Translations (40)

bg тресящ се (unstady, wobbly) · cmn 发抖的 (shaking) · bg неустойчив (unsound) · nl zwak (unsound) · eo nestabila (unstady, wobbly) · ru шаткий (unsound) · nl onzeker (unsound) · es tembloroso (shaking) · it traballante (unstady, wobbly) · cmn 颤抖的 (shaking) · bg треперещ (unstady, wobbly) · oc malsan (unsound) · hu rozoga (unstady, wobbly) · oc instable (unsound) · ca tremolós (shaking) · ru зыбкий (unsound) · nl trillerig (shaking) · sco shooglie (unsound) · ru дрожащий (shaking) · sv skakig (unsound) · gv craagh (shaking) · pdt flautrich (shaking) · ru растрескавшийся (full of cracks) · fr instable (unsound) · eo tremanta (shaking) · nl bibberig (shaking) · ceb huyang (unstady, wobbly) · ga creathach (shaking) · izh hatara (unstady, wobbly) · it malfermo (unsound) · pdt schlakrich (shaking) · ota طوپال (unstady, wobbly) · mi tūretireti (unsound) · eo tremema (unsound) · sv skakig (shaking) · la instābilis (unsound) · nl gammel (unsound) · bg разклатен (unsound) · sco shooglie (shaking) · oc malgalhard (unsound)