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# shaky

«shaky» in Mova's school dictionary: **Shaking or trembling, often because of fear, cold…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 3 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective (shaky, shakier, shakiest); adverb: shakily

### meaning for a pupil

1) Shaking or trembling, often because of fear, cold, illness or weakness (shaky hands, a shaky voice). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/shaky/#m1)

2) Not firm or steady; likely to fall or break (a shaky ladder). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/shaky/#m2)

3) Not certain, strong or good (shaky spelling, a shaky start). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/shaky/#m3)

4) In some dialects, shaky is used as a verb meaning to shake. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/shaky/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life and safety: don't stand on shaky chairs or ladders; a shaky bridge or shelf may collapse. In feelings lessons, a shaky voice or legs show nerves or fear (before a performance). In school, «my times tables are a bit shaky» means not yet secure. In stories it builds tension. Phrases: shaky hands, shaky voice, on shaky ground, a shaky start.

### examples

- My hands were shaky before I read my poem. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/shaky/#x1)
- Don't stand on that shaky chair. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/shaky/#x2)
- The old bridge looked shaky, so we didn't cross it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/shaky/#x3)
- Her voice was shaky because she was nervous. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/shaky/#x4)
- My division is still a bit shaky. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/shaky/#x5)
- After being ill, Grandpa's legs felt shaky. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/shaky/#x6)
- The team had a shaky start but won the game. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/shaky/#x7)

### note

Comparative: shakier, shakiest (y → i). From the verb «shake». «On shaky ground» = not sure, could be wrong.

### In the corpora

- [Nerves make breath short and the voice shaky, even in good singers; slow breathing before singing helps calm the voice.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/arts/8-singing-choirs-and-talent-shows/5/)
- [Going without food or water for a long time makes you shaky, slow to think and more likely to have accidents.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/9-body-signals/20/)
- [The tone of a voice — loud, quiet, shaky or flat — can show how someone feels.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/14-faces-and-voices/11/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «shaky» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/shaky/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.