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Synonyms

shaky

American  
[shey-kee] / ˈʃeɪ ki /

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 British  
/ ˈʃeɪkɪ /

adjective

  1. tending to shake or tremble

  2. liable to prove defective; unreliable

  3. uncertain or questionable

    your arguments are very shaky
"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

  • shakily adverb
  • shakiness noun

Etymology

Origin of shaky

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

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.

Wall Street private-credit firms face pressure as investors seek money back from loans to shaky sectors, raising fears of forced liquidations.

From The Wall Street Journal

For its fiscal fourth quarter, which runs through May, Nike expects sales to fall 2% to 4%, weighed down by weaker trends in its Converse segment and difficulties in China, whose economy has been shaky.

From MarketWatch

Consumer spending, two-thirds of US GDP, is pressured by falling real wages; AI enthusiasm also appears shaky.

From Barron's

She’d complimented my first shaky stitch and made me feel like I did belong here, no matter how long it took me to get through the forest path or how many verb charts I needed.

From Literature

Once-reliable career paths—from business school to consulting, for instance—now look shakier.

From The Wall Street Journal

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.